Arthur Vincent Urbina (Vince) was born on January 29, 1951, in Pueblo, Colorado.

He went to be with the Lord on November 29, 2023, after courageously battling complications of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma.  He was 72.  His wife and children were by his side.

Vince is survived by his life partner and best friend, Gail Urbina; his daughter, Tawni Midgley (husband, Brent); his son, Alexander J. (A.J.) Urbina; his father, Arthur Munoz Urbina; and his brothers, Christopher Urbina (wife, Mary Beth) and James Urbina (wife, Valerie).  Vince was blessed with many other cherished family members, and countless treasured friends and co-workers.  Vince was predeceased by his mother, Mary Veronica Urbina.

Vince was born and raised in Pueblo Colorado.  Graduating from Colorado State University in 1973 with a degree in Forest and Range Science, he considered himself blessed to have been hired by the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) straight out of college.  He worked at the CSFS Fort Collins District from 1975-1979.  For the next fifteen years, he worked in the private sector as a fruit grower in Palisade and at Fort Collins Wholesale Nursery.  Returning to the western slope in 1994, he worked another 26 years for the CSFS Grand Junction District, focusing on urban and community forestry.  He retired in 2020.

Vince's list of lifetime work accomplishments and awards is long and diversified.  In addition, volunteering for a myriad of professional and community organizations took up a great deal of his time. Trees were certainly one of his greatest passions and he was affectionately known as the "tree guy."  He loved anything trees, and his knowledge was renowned.  His daughter worked as a server at a local restaurant, and a gentlemen introduced himself as the "tree guy."  She quicky corrected him, "No, my dad is the 'tree guy!' "  He seemed puzzled and asked, "Who is your dad?"  "Vince Urbina," she proudly replied.  He then stunned her by admitting, "You're right, he IS the tree guy!"

As much as he loved trees, Vince's greatest passion was living for Jesus!  Glorifying God and helping his fellow man was always Vince's foremost mission.  He put his faith into practice by continually sharing the good news of Christ.  Vince committed his life to Jesus in 1979, and grew in faith at many churches.  However, Grand Junction Church of Christ was his church home for the past twenty-nine years, where he was fondly known as the "Deacon of Trees."  He participated in Christian service in so many varied capacities, some of which were known only to the Lord.

Vince and Gail met in 1985 at Fort Collins Nursery. They were joyfully joined in marriage on June 28, 1986.  They had thirty-seven amazing, fun-filled, adventurous years together, raising their two beautiful children and serving God and their Lord Jesus Christ.  As a family, they lived a life full of love, laughter, travel, and a lot of hard work.  Their goal was to visit all 63 National Parks in the United States.  Vince saw 38 of these beautiful parks.  After exploring Redwoods National Park last October, he declared it to be his favorite.  He was in awe of those stunning giants.  In the spring, his family will return to the Redwoods to honor him and celebrate his life in a private ceremony.

Vince left an indelible mark on all of us blessed enough to have known him.  He would want us to find comfort in knowing he is free from his cancer and rejoicing with his Father in heaven.  Foremost, his greatest desire would be for everyone to know his Savoir as intimately as he did.  We will miss his sense of humor, his smile, his knowledge of anything trees, and his amazing love of God.  A celebration of Vince's life will be held on February 24 at 1:00 p.m. at the Grand Junction Church of Christ.