Retired Col. Eugene M. Orton served his country in peace and war. But his hardest job was probably that of father.

And here's why:

In the late 1950s, Orton was stationed at the Pentagon. He and his family - wife Vera and twins Bill and Bob - lived in Arlington, Va.

"We had a rabbit we had bought," Bob said. "And we had a dog named Duke."

Duke didn't like the rabbit, so Orton laid down the orders: dog and rabbit were never to mix.

"Dad called home one day around lunch to talk to mom," Bob said. "My brother and I decided we'd let the dog in the house to help him make friends with the rabbit. We were sure they'd be friends for life."

It didn't quite work out like the boys had hoped.

"The dog tried to kill the rabbit," Bob said.

Dad, across the river, heard the commotion over the phone - his wife was hollering, Duke was barking, and his kids were screaming.

Realizing he couldn't help, Orton hung up.

Bob said he learned a lesson from the episode - to think calmly when others are incapable.

Bill said he also learned some painful lessons.

"There's a reason for rules," Bill said. "And there were consequences for not following the rules."

Mr. Orton died Oct. 30 in Denver. He was 96, still of sharp mind but weak in body.

He was born Nov. 24, 1911, to Eugene D. and Blanche M. Orton in Wichita, Kan. His father, a newspaperman, moved the family to Joplin, Mo., where Orton grew up.

After Orton graduated from Joplin High School in 1929, he and three friends traveled from Missouri to California and back, including a stop in Colorado, which planted the seed for a future move. Orton had been involved with Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps in high school, so he enrolled in the Civilian Military Training Corps, earning an Army commission in '33.

Even Army jobs were scarce during the Great Depression. So Orton worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps, which the Army administered.

"Dad was in charge of camps in Missouri, Arkansas and Nebraska," said Bill, who attended a convention of former CCC workers with his father in the '90s.

"A lot of troopies still remembered dad," Bill said. "He got up to talk, and he told them a story. He said the cooks had complained that somebody was stealing all the syrup out of the canned fruit. Well, some of the guys were building a still."

On inspection rounds, Orton discovered and destroyed a still.

"He said he could hear groans from the barracks," Bill said. "He told that story years later. And nobody laughed at it then, either. Some of those guys were still harboring a grudge 60 years later that dad had kicked over their still."

During World War II, Orton served in combat in New Guinea and the Philippines. He also served with occupation forces in Korea after the war. In 1949, he returned to Korea for another tour.

He met his wife, the former Vera Malanchuk. They were married Dec. 8, 1950, in Fort Meyers, Va. She died in 2001.

He served stateside and as the NATO liaison officer to the Turkish General Staff.

He retired in 1967 after 32 years' service, earning a slew of medals from the Purple Heart to the Bronze Star for valor.

Orton settled his family in Denver in 1967. He worked as regional manager for the Burns Detective Agency as well as a director for the Boy Scouts of America Denver Area Council. He last worked for the Denver Office of Emergency Preparedness.

He was a member of El Jebel Shrine and various military service organizations.

In addition to his wife, Orton was preceded in death by his daughter, Mary Ann Tru hitte, of Cassville, Mo.

Survivors include two sons, Bill, of Aurora, and Bob, of Denver, and four grandchildren.

massarog@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5271

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