Where do we begin to express our appreciation and gratitude to the community as we grieve the sudden loss of father, brother, brother-in-law, husband, grandfather, great grandfather, uncle, grand uncle, board member, community volunteer and friend Ed Zink.

We are grateful for the dedicated men and women at Durango Fire & Rescue who used everything in their proverbial toolbox to get a heartbeat in Ed.

We are grateful for all of the staff members at Mercy Regional Medical Center. They used their expert skills and resources to do everything they could for a different outcome, and they gave our family and friends five more days with Ed.

We are grateful for the thousands of people who prayed and sent positive thoughts for Ed and our family.

We are grateful for our friends and family who coordinated the celebration, especially our granddaughter, Emma, and wonderful friend Melissa Mayer.

We are grateful for the hundreds of people who attended Ed’s celebration, particularly those people who traveled from seven states and Washington, D.C.

We are grateful for our friends who brought food to sustain us, and the hundreds of cards, tributes and handwritten notes.

We are grateful for Pastor Jeff Huber, Sandy Turner and the staff at First United Methodist Church who helped us.

We are grateful for the people who have shared with our family their new practice of gratitude, and even more people who have joined Ed’s son Tim’s request to serve our community.

With even more gratitude to all of you,

The family of Ed Zink and his family at Mountain Bike Specialists, Waterfall Ranch and Animas River Top Soil.