Fort Collins' Pat Stryker, Richest Woman in Fort Collins

Everyone in the Northern Colorado area is familiar with the fact that one of the richest people in Colorado, and in America, lives in Fort Collins. Pat Stryker is heir to a medical fortune; let's take a look at it.

Those who know of Pat Stryker, know that she is very kind with her money, being a huge benefactor to the community and launching the Bohemian Foundation. We can all agree that it's hard to dislike Pat (can I call her Pat?), but where does all that money come from?

Facebook/Washington's FoCo

You'll find the stained glass artwork above at Washington's, a great music venue, in downtown Fort Collins. A venue made possible by Pat Stryker's Bohemian Foundation. The foundation also helped to create The Music District; Pat's foundation is a big supporter of music, clearly.

Facebook/The Music District

As of this writing, Pat Stryker is worth $3.5 billion. Her net worth is a number that fluctuates, routinely, as it does with any of Colorado's richest people. She does good things with her fortune, and all that she has helped with that fortune are thankful. I just thought we could take a minute to look at where all that money comes from.

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WHERE DO PAT STRYKER'S BILLIONS OF DOLLARS COME FROM?

Pat Stryker, born in 1956, is an heir to the Stryker Corp., which was started by her grandfather.

WHO IS HER GRANDFATHER?

Pat's grandfather, Homer Stryker, sounds like a very interesting and determined man. After serving in World War I, he wanted to go to medical school but failed the foreign language part of the admittance exam. After another two years of scraping up the tuition and learning that foreign language, he got in. He graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School in 1925.

Only eight years out of medical school, Homer Stryker began his journey to becoming a very wealthy man with his medical inventions. One of his first inventions was a medical bed that helped patients, by helping to prevent "bedsores."

It was in 1945, however, that Homer Stryker "struck gold" by inventing the cast saw. You may have seen it in action yourself if you've ever broken a bone.

WHAT ABOUT THAT BED?

Homer started his company as the Orthopedic Frame Co., as his "Turning Bed Frame" became widely used. In 1964, they changed the name to Stryker Corp. Today, with all the medical tools and devices that the company makes, that company brings in tens of billions of dollars each year.

WHO ARE PAT STRYKER'S PARENTS?

Lee Stryker, Homer's son, was the general manager of Stryker Corp. for nearly 20 years before he and his wife, Nancy, both died in a plane crash in 1976. The couple had three children, Ronda, Patricia, and Jon.

DOES PAT STRYKER HAVE CHILDREN?

Pat is divorced and does have three children of her own, though little is disclosed about them.

The cast saw and the "hospital bed." I did not see that coming. Now, you may have a little dinner conversation of your own, about Fort Collins' philanthropist billionaire.