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Gunilla Asher, 1972-2014

Staff report
Gunilla Asher

Gunilla Asher, a longtime Aspen resident and the publisher of The Aspen Times, Snowmass Sun and Aspen Times Weekly, died early on the morning of June 2 after a courageous battle with cancer. She was 42.

Asher was hospitalized June 1 as a result of liver failure that stemmed from cancer. She passed away around 4 a.m. at Aspen Valley Hospital, with her husband, Mark, by her side.

After spending her formative years in Aspen, Asher attended high school in Washington state. She returned to Colorado to attend Fort Lewis College in Durango, graduating in 1994.



Asher joined The Aspen Times sales team in 2003, eventually being promoted to the department’s director. In November 2009, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, undergoing chemotherapy and a double mastectomy to keep the cancer from returning.

However, on Feb. 19, 2013, Asher learned that she had Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer throughout her body. She remained committed to The Aspen Times, though, and was named publisher of her hometown newspaper in June 2013.




Asher is survived by her husband and two sons, David and Charlie, ages 5 and 6. Other survivors include her father, Charles Israel, and his wife, Sandy; sister Linda, stepsister Rachel Hahn and stepbrother Josh Goldman; and many friends. She is preceded in death by her brother, David, who died in a car accident in 1995, and her mother, Gunn Agell, who passed away in November.

The family will hold a private burial service this week. The public is invited to attend a celebration of Asher’s life from 5 to 7 p.m. June 6 at the ballroom of the Hotel Jerome in Aspen.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Aspen Valley Hospital and the Aspen nonprofit Pathfinders.