J. William “Bill” Crouch

Long time Colorado automobile dealer, Bill Crouch of Cherry Hills Village, passed away February 27, 2014 in La Quinta, California, where he spent the winter months. Bill was born, August 13, 1936, and raised in Tipton, the second son of H. Paul Crouch, Sr. and Dorris Crouch.

Growing up, he learned the car business from his dad, who was a Dodge – Plymouth and Nash Dealer in Tipton. After graduating from the University of Colorado in 1958, Bill went to work for his older brother, Paul Crouch at Crouch Motor Company, a Desoto-Plymouth dealership in Boulder. He left Boulder in 1963 to open Bill Crouch Chrysler-Plymouth on South Broadway in Englewood, Colorado.

At 26, he was the youngest person to ever be awarded a Chrysler franchise. Crouch became a Boulder Subaru dealer in 1984 and was the recipient of the Sports Illustrated Import Dealer of Distinction Award. He was a member of the Subaru Chairman’s Council for over 17 years. Bill was so proud of whom he called “the finest employees” an owner could have, as they continually won the Circle of Excellence Award for sales and customer service. In 1986, he was selected to be one of the first Charter Acura Dealers, Pikes Peak Acura in Colorado Springs, and later opened Flatirons Acura in Boulder. For over ten years, it has been voted by the citizens of Boulder as the Best Overall car dealership in Boulder County and has won the Acura Precision Team Award many times.

Crouch was a member of the Boulder and Denver Chamber of Commerce, a member and past president of the Englewood Chamber and Chairman of the Arapahoe County United Way. He was honored to be named Denver Jaycees’ Outstanding Young Man for 1969. Bill was an avid water and snow skier and loved taking all his family to Lake Powell and Snowmass. His boat was aptly named “the K-YACHT-IC.” He also enjoyed golfing and flying his own plane and liked to brag that he only had one bad landing. Thus, his motto in his daily life and business became “Bad Approach – Bad Landing.”

Bill is survived by his three children, daughter Shelley Hupp (Jon) of Annapolis, Maryland; son Scott Crouch (Libby) of Boulder; daughter Stacey McDonald (Jim) of Greenwood Village; ten grandchildren and sisters, Nancy Cheek (Joe) of Bowling Green, Kentucky, and Susan Bornt of Centennial, Colorado. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother and best friend, Paul Crouch, Jr.

Graveside services will be at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 13, at Fairview Cemetery in Tipton with Pastor Kevin Carr presiding. Visitation will be from 1:00 p.m. until the time of the service at Young-Nichols Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, donation can be made to Craig Rehabilitation Hospital, 3425 South Clarkson Street, Englewood, Colorado, 80113.