Ellsworth G. "Bud" Siemon

E. G. Bud Siemon, Jr.
Longtime Ketchum/Sun Valley resident, E. G. Bud Siemon, Jr., passed away peacefully at his home in Ketchum on December 29th, 2018 at the age of 91.

Bud was born in New Haven, CT on June 21st, 1927 to Ellsworth and Marjorie Siemon. His father worked for the railroad, and the family moved every few years while he was young. He attended high school in Chicago IL, and after graduating in 1944 he immediately enlisted in the Army Air Corps with the goal of becoming a combat pilot. He transferred to the Navy after the Army stopped training pilots, and he completed flight training as a Naval Aviation Cadet in 1945 just as WWII ended. He received an honorable discharge from the Navy along with an American Service WWII Victory Medal for stateside service in 1947.

Bud completed his Bachelors of Arts degree in Political Science at Colorado College in 1949 under the GI Bill. A postcard from a former college friend led him to Europe in 1950 to study with the remainder of his GI Bill education funding. He studied in Paris, Grenoble, Cannes, and Innsbrook and traveled throughout Europe. He began working for the U.S. Army in 1952 helping to manage the Armed Forces Recreation Complex at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

Bud met his future wife Valerie Mullard in Munich where she was working as a secretary for Radio Free Europe. They were married in 1957 in Munich, and their four children, Scott, Mark, Kelly, and Glenn were all born in Munich. Bud and his young family returned to the U.S. in 1964, and Bud began working as an operations analyst for the Janss Corporation in Sun Valley in 1966. He became Vice-President of Recreation Operations in 1972 and later General Manager of Sun Valley Resort. Bud left Sun Valley Company in 1973 to manage Snowbird (1973-75), Big Sky (1975-77), and Grand Targhee (1977-79). Because he had moved so often as a child, he wanted his family to remain in Ketchum, so he drove back to Ketchum on the weekends to spend time with Valerie and the children.

He returned to Ketchum in 1979 after his youngest son, Glenn, was killed in a private plane accident while learning to fly. He began selling real estate, first with Elkhorn Realty, and later establishing his own company – The Real Estate Company, where he worked until 2016. He loved to ski, and he loved to play tennis even more. He continued to play doubles tennis into his late 80’s. He was known as Budman and later Budlite to many friends in Ketchum and Sun Valley, and he was always had a joke ready or a story to share. His sense of humor, kindness, and generosity will be missed.

He will be especially missed by his wife of 61 years Valerie, his children, Scott (Park City UT), Mark (Ketchum), Kelly (Hailey), and his grandchildren, Patrick (Salt Lake City), Nicholas (Berkeley, CA), and Joseph (Park City). We were truly blessed to have had such a loving and jovial father and grandfather. The family requests donations in his memory be made to Wood River Hospice and Palliative Care or the Animal Welfare Institute. A celebration of his life is planned for his birthday on June 21st 2019.