Abrahamson passes away, leaving land surveying legacy

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AURORA, COLO. — Doyle G. Abrahamson, PLS/MS, and vice president of surveying for Merrick & Company, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, Aug. 28, 2010, while traveling on business in Florida. He had been with the firm for 31 years and was instrumental in the development and success of Merrick’s surveying practice. He has been a long-standing surveying resource in Colorado and was a recognized expert in Colorado survey law.

Abrahamson was a founding member of the Central Colorado Chapter of Professional Land Surveyors (PLS), and during his many years on the organization’s legislative committee, helped to formulate Colorado survey law. He was a past president and lifetime member of PLS, a former chairman of the American Congress of Surveying and Mapping, and was selected as the 1991 PLS surveyor of the year. Abrahamson was licensed in 15 states and had long-standing working relationships with such companies as Xcel, the Denver Regional Transportation District, and Tri-State Generation and Transmission. He gave back to his profession in many ways, including teaching refresher courses for licensure testing, on behalf of PLS, for more than 15 years.

Surveying was Doyle’s passion, both at work and away. Abrahamson and his son, Justin, also a surveyor with Merrick, were part of a team to retrace and re-monument the original base line monuments set in 1859 marking the original dividing line between the Kansas and Nebraska territories in what is now Colorado. Multiple climbs to the Rocky Mountain Continental Divide were required by the team to locate monuments along the 40th parallel on both the east and west sides of the divide.

Doyle is survived by his wife, Cindy; son Justin; stepsons Paul (Skip), and Matt Davis; his parents Howard and Maude; his sister, Jean Marie; his twin brother, Darrel (& wife Phyllis); and his brother, Tom (& wife Betty); as well as numerous nieces, nephews, relatives, colleagues, and friends.

Funeral services were held on Saturday, Sept. 4, 2010, at Peace Lutheran Church in Dunseith, N.D. Burial followed at the Little Prairie Cemetery. A celebration of Doyle’s life will be held at Grace United Methodist Church, 4905 E. Yale Ave., Denver, on Monday, Sept. 13 at 2:00 p.m.