Waylon was born May 27, 1992 in Greeley to his loving parents LeRon and Lori Ehrlich.“Otis”, his nickname among friends and family, was a proud member of the Roosevelt High School FFA where he served as officer and member of the judging team. He was a role model and mentor for younger 4-H and FFA members for showmanship with livestock, mainly market hogs. He wrestled for 9 years, and was a referee for 2 years on the Colorado Wrestling Officials Association for local and national tournaments. Waylon was a dedicated, hard-working, mature young man who always had a smile and communicated with young and old alike. He loved spending time with his family, especially his brother. As a Jack of all trades, he helped his father with many construction projects. He had a lawn mowing operation when he was 12, and was the owner of Ehrlich Customs LLC.
Education
Waylon spent his entire life in the Milliken, Johnstown area and attended local schools throughout his life. Waylon Graduated in May of 2011 from Roosevelt High School in Johnstown. Waylon was looking forward to attending CSU to pursue his degree in agricultural business and had just met with the department director at CSU the Monday before he passed. Below is a letter from the professor in regards to hearing of Waylon's passing. It is a true testimate that you could meet Waylon once and he would leave an everlasting impression.
"Jack,
I am truly saddened to hear this (Waylon’s passing). Waylon and I had a tremendous conversation on Monday (April 16th 2012). I could see tremendous potential in this young man and he seemed truly enthused about the prospect of joining our program and building in himself the skills to become a first-class manager. It was immediately clear to me that he had and eye on a purpose in life that is far too rare among our students these days.
It is so very sad that he has been denied the opportunity to achieve the potential that the two of us discussed in the afternoon that I knew him.
Please pass on my deepest sympathies to this family and friends and, where appropriate, the positive impression he left with me in our too-brief encounter Monday afternoon.
Kindest regards,
Marshall
W. Marshall Frasier, PhD
Professor and Undergraduate Coordinator
Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics
Colorado State University"
Wrestling
Waylon enjoyed the sport of wrestling his entire life. He grew up wrestling and had many trophies and medals to prove his love and dedication to the sport. After graduation Waylon joined the CWOA (Colorado Wrestling Officials Association) and began his 2 year officiating career. Below is a letter from the CWOA commenting on Waylon's skills and dedication.
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Ehrlich:
The Executive Committee of the Colorado Wrestling Officials Association, on behalf of the wrestling officials from across the state, would like to express our condolences to you and your family on the loss of your son. Waylon was a good friend to many of the Colorado wrestling officials and we will miss him.
As you know, the task of officiating this great sport can be very challenging, and Waylon was quickly growing into becoming an excellent referee. Waylon’s personality was on that touched many in our ranks and the young people that he officiated. There are not many officials that receive the level of recognition that Waylon did so early in his refereeing career. Receiving a regional tournament assignment at his young age is a rare event, and on that serves to highlight how well other people thought of his refereeing skills and personality.
Please know that you and your family are in our thoughts and prayers. Please accept our heartfelt condolences.
Sincerely,
Ben Keefer
President, Colorado Wrestling Association
Copyright © 2019 Waylon Ehrlich FFA Scholarship Foundation - All Rights Reserved.
waylonehrlichffascholarship@yahoo.com