Louis Ambroise Cherbeneau crunched numbers for a living, but it was the crunch of the land beneath his feet that gave him some of his greatest satisfaction.

Considered by his family to be a "cowboy at heart," Mr. Cherbeneau was meticulous about preserving his ranch in the Estes Valley.

He and his wife were among the first in Estes Park to donate their land with easements to the Forestry Department Land Trust. The commitment won him several awards, including Best Forest Practices in 1977 from the Colorado Forest Service and a Lifetime Achievement in Natural Resources Conservation from the Big Thompson Soil Conversation District in 2001.

"Many people have now put their lands in conservation easements because of his example," said the couple's oldest daughter, Neva McMullin.

Mr. Cherbeneau died July 15 of a stroke in Longmont, six weeks shy of his 100th birthday, which he was looking forward to celebrating. His wife, Alice Ford Cherbeneau, died of congestive heart failure April 12 in Coronado, Calif.

Mr. Cherbeneau was born Aug. 31, 1907, in Ridgway to Ambroise William Cherbino and Bess Slick Cherbino.

He finished high school in 1925 in Grand Junction and earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Colorado in 1931. Mr. Cherbeneau worked as a credit analyst and credit reporting manager for Dunn & Bradstreet in Denver from 1931 to 1955 and then as credit manager at The Denver Post until he retired in 1970.

But his family said he took every chance to return to nature.

"He went up (to Estes Park) practically every weekend. It was very primitive, no electricity, no running water. . . . We had a kerosene lamp, but he loved it like that," said his second daughter, Jeanne Cherbeneau, of La Jolla, Calif.

Mr. Cherbeneau married Alice Ford in 1934. The couple met while she was attending boarding school in Denver.

She graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in psychology and geology and an English minor from the University of Wyoming in 1931.

Passionate about human sciences, she was the founding president of the Psi Chi Psychology Honor Society. After receiving her master's degree in communications in 1948 from the University of Denver, she became an instructor at the university in basic communication.

As the relationship grew, the two married their interests.

"My mother finally took on a lot of his interest with the ranching, and he took on her interests in general semantics, philosophy and theory about human communications," Jeanne Cherbeneau said.

Two years after Mr. Cherbeaneau's retirement, he took on the job of general manager for the Estes Park Horse Show and Rodeo. In 1993, he was grand marshal for the Rodeo Parade.

He also enjoyed playing the Spanish guitar and making leather handicrafts.

"He was always down in this workshop, practically every evening. He got really expert on that, making beautiful saddles and then chaps and billfolds and belts that he was very admired for," Jeanne Cherbeneau said.

Besides his daughters, Mr. Cherbeneau is survived by three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, all based in Colorado.

Family and friends will celebrate the couple's lives at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at the Estes Park Museum meeting room, 200 Fourth St., Estes Park.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Sierra Club, the Nature Conservancy and the Estes Park Senior Center.

eqbalia@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2742