Usually, Capitol M looks at the lighter side of what goes on at the General Assembly and the state Capitol. 

However, today’s column is a tribute to the long list of former lawmakers and friends who have moved on to the next plane of existence.

And it is a surprisingly long list. 

Three lawmakers who all served together in the 1970s all passed within a week of each other.

The lawmakers

Among those who passed in 2019, Republican Rep. Kimmi Lewis of Kim lost a battle with breast cancer on Dec. 6. Lewis, a fixture in southeastern Colorado politics, was a rancher and strong advocate for rural issues, such as agriculture and conservation easements. She served three years in the General Assembly.

Republican Tilman “Tillie” Bishop of Grand Junction served 28 years in the General Assembly, another six as a regent of the University of Colorado and four more as a Mesa County Commissioner. He died on June 16. 

The “grande dame” of the General Assembly, Dottie Wham, 94, of Denver, died on Oct. 21. She served three years in the House and 14 years in the Senate. Wham was the last Republican to represent a Denver district. 

The three Democratic lawmakers who served together and died within a week of each other:

Leo Lucero of Pueblo died Sept. 24 and served 14 years in the House, from 1971 to 1984. He was a champion of education and racial equality. 

Dick Soash of Steamboat Springs died Oct. 1. Soash, who later was a popular lobbyist at the state Capitol, served eight years in the state Senate between 1976 and 1984.

That same day, Oct. 1, former Speaker of the House Ruben Valdez, who also worked for decades at the Capitol as a lobbyist, passed away. He was the first Hispanic to serve as Speaker, and until 2005, the only Democrat to be elected Speaker. Valdez served from 1971 to 1978 and as Speaker in the 1975 and 1976 sessions.

Legislative friends and political activists

Longtime lobbyist Peg Ackerman died Nov. 15. Ackerman ran Ackerman Information Services for nearly 40 years and was considered a mentor and role model for a generation of lobbyists who followed. She was 85.

Carrie Ann Lucas, 47, of Loveland, an attorney and longtime advocate for the disabled, died on Feb. 24 from septic shock. Lucas founded Disabled Parents Rights and was a member of ADAPT. She was arrested, along with other ADAPT members, in the office of Sen. Cory Gardner in 2017 after a 58-hour sit-in.

Kyle Forti, a Colorado GOP political consultant, was killed in a helicopter crash in Kenya on March 3. In addition to his political activities, Forti, 29, and his wife were foster parents and founded Foster Together Colorado, an organization that supports foster parents.

Will Perkins, 91, helped push the constitutional amendment known as Amendment 2, which earned Colorado the moniker of “the hate state” from LGBT activists when it passed in 1992. But Perkins also helped establish Colorado Springs as a center for evangelical Christianity and served as chair of Coloradans for Family Values. He died Oct. 19.

Other notable Colorado passings

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch, 88, who oversaw the Oklahoma City bombing trials, died on May 26. Marsch also presided over the civil lawsuit of LA Lakers player Kobe Bryant, which never went to trial, and trials for seven members of the Order, the group that assassinated Denver radio host Alan Berg in 1984.

Lauren Watson, 79, was a founder of the Denver Black Panther Party in the 1970s. He died Aug. 7.

Marie Greenwood, the first black teacher to be tenured in the Denver Public Schools, died Nov. 15 at the age of 106. 

Capitol M also wants to say one last farewell to two of our beloved Colorado Politics colleagues:

Journalism legend John Ensslin came back to Colorado last March to launch Colorado Politics’ coverage of all things Denver. He died suddenly on Aug. 4. Ensslin, 65, also wrote for the Rocky Mountain News and newspapers in New York and New Jersey. He also served as president of the Denver Press Club and founded the club’s Damon Runyon award, which celebrates icons in the journalism industry.

Columnist Neil Westergaard, 67, died July 7 after a brief illness. Westergaard was the longtime editor of the Denver Business Journal until he retired last year, and also was an editor at The Denver Post. He was named the Colorado Press Association’s Newspaperman of the Year in April. Said then-Colorado Politics managing editor Mark Harden: “He created newsrooms that were places where excellence was expected and appreciated, where people had fun working hard and covering the news. He relished the news, and he enjoyed talking about things that mattered with his readers and the community.

“The world of Colorado journalism is a better place because of Neil,” Harden added.

The world is a better place because of all of them.