Horst Ueblacker 10 May 1939 – 3 March 2011.
When I was child Dad would ask me, “What are you going to do with your life? Why don’t you become an engineer?” And though I fought the very notion back then – here I am now – an engineer. He was more than a father for me: he was my mentor and my inspiration as an engineer.
My father’s contributions to the profession of engineering, geology, rock mechanics, tunnel and dam design can only be characterized as pioneering and massive. He brought to the world (Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Philippines, Greece, Italy, Japan, Indonesia, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, and the United States) the innovative technology known as the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM). Ironically, I became an author of a manual used world wide for a technology called Soil Nailing which principally is nothing more than the “above-ground” derivative of NATM – just as I am a derivative of him – physically and professionally. During my own work-related travels, it was not uncommon for someone to say to me, “Ueblacker? Are you Horst’s son?” It always warmed my bones to know he had already been where I was now and never did I receive a derogatory comment; his work was impeccable. Just today one of the VP’s in my company emailed me with great sorrow, saying,
“I consider your father a historic contributor in driving the golden spike in the last link of the I-70 corridor – Glenwood Canyon.”
He was most proud of his work in Glenwood Canyon, but began his career here on another challenging link for the same interstate highway: the Eisenhower Tunnel through Loveland Pass. Ultimately several Colorado tunnels were built with curving walls because of our dad.
Dad told me, “In life there’s only two things, Gernot – Risk & Opportunity.” He’d risked everything in leaving his homeland, bringing a young family to America to build a life. He loved America – for its wide range of opportunities – he took great pride and joy in building a business of his own based on his expertise and designs. He especially loved Colorado for it’s vast tracts of untamed Rocky Mountain wilderness and took every opportunity to explore and enjoy the mountains . He mastered the English language and spoke with almost no accent. Yet he never lost sight of his heritage in Austria. He was a bridge for the transfer of engineering technology between the two continents.
Dad was a life-long learner. History fascinated him. He read and read and read. His library is extensive. He passed his love of rocks and geology on to all those he met. They say sometimes people end up do something related to what their name means; this couldn’t be truer of my father. “Horst” is a geological term: In geology, horst and graben are terms referring to regions that lie between normal faults and are either above or lower than the area beyond the faults. A horst represents a block pushed upward by the faulting, and a graben is a block that has dropped due to the faulting. He lived up to his name.
His dedication and resolve to manage myriad health problems – diabetes, peripheral artery disease, heart irregularities and congestive heart failure through diet and exercise should be an inspiration to us all; they are to me. Up until two years ago he was still strapping on the boards and enjoying his favorite sport – skiing. He loved the outdoors; hiking, fishing and hunting, camping. His work took him outdoors. They say if you love what you do you never work a day in your life. He was the epitome of this notion; work for him was an opportunity to appreciate God’s creation.
He kept the faith. He understood the meaning of the word “propitiation”. He was spiritually humble. What more can be said of this? He did that which God calls us to do – to seek Him out. I am thankful for his resolve to understand the love of our Lord Jesus Christ and that he passed this great mystery to me.
He always made the effort to keep in touch with his children and he never grumbled when we didn’t. He never missed an opportunity to say “I love you” in an email or in personal communication. He wasn’t perfect; no one is. He was pretty hard when we were young but mellowed with age. He was big enough to apologize. He loved us all – unconditionally – just as a father should.
In the last few weeks, I was working very hard with him assisting him in developing some work for a new client. He sometimes struggled to keep his business afloat, but never failed to keep a positive attitude – he was always professional – always ethical. There was always more to learn from him. This loss is for me absolutely immeasurable – I can hardly put it into words. All I can do now is sort through what is left behind in a painstaking attempt to gain the knowledge that he could easily have communicated to me, with just a little more time.
I’m thankful to have been in such frequent contact with him over the last month. We spoke every day right up until just a few short hours before his heart attack and he was so happy to be working together again. I’m thankful that he went quickly, with dignity, and that we were all there with him when God’s angels came and lifted his soul to Heaven. But most of all I’m thankful that he passed with an encouraged spirit, having great confidence and unshakable hope for the future, doing the thing he had committed his whole life to – that for which our Heavenly Father undeniably fashioned him out of the clay (with a name to suit) – to bring solutions to world’s problems through actively advancing the engineering and geo-technical professions.
We love you, Dad, and we miss you endlessly!
by Gernot Ueblacker