Former state Rep. Dennis Barcial Apuan, a Colorado Springs Democrat, died May 23 in Jacksonville, Florida, from complications of diabetes. He was 55.

An announcement from Rep. Tony Exum, also of Colorado Springs, said Apuan, who served one term in the Colorado House, will be “sorely missed.”

Apuan was born Sept. 30, 1964, in Manila, making him the only Filipino-American to serve in the Colorado General Assembly. He served from 2009 to 2011 and lost re-election to Republican Rep. Mark Barker in a seat that has bounced back and forth between the political parties for more than a decade.

In 2008, Apuan defeated Republican Kit Roupe by 381 votes in the only House seat to flip from Republican to Democrat that year. Barker won the House District 17 seat in southeastern Colorado Springs in 2010; Democrat Exum won it in 2012 and Roupe won it in 2014. Exum won it back in 2016 and has held it ever since.

Apuan emigrated to Los Angeles in 1984 and to Colorado Springs in 1997. He worked at the Broadmoor Community Church, first as a janitor and later as its business administrator.

Apuan was a self-described community activist and regional director of the Colorado Progressive Coalition. He was a community organizer for Colorado Unity, a statewide equal opportunity group. He also was vice-chair of the El Paso County Democratic Party for four years.

In 2003, Apuan participated in a protest against nuclear weapons at Peterson Air Force Base and was arrested, along with four other activists, for trespassing. The four were sentenced to 48 hours of community service.

In 2014, Apuan founded KCMJ-FM, a left-leaning community radio station in Colorado Springs.

It was through his political activism that Exum got to know Apuan, Exum said on his Facebook page Sunday.

When Exum ran for the HD17 seat in 2012, “Dennis was a mentor to me, offering advice and insight, and my victory would not have been possible without his assistance. He told me to ‘always honor the people you serve.’ Thank you, Dennis.”

Apuan never stopped being a “faithful, peaceful servant to our southeast Colorado Springs community, or anywhere else he was needed, ” Exum wrote. “And for that, we are forever grateful. Rest in Peace, my friend.”

Accolades to Apuan have come in from the organizations with which he served. Meg Fossinger of the Colorado Springs Council for Justice, which was founded by Apuan, said on the group’s Facebook page that Apuan was committed to the fight for justice and lived out that commitment in all his actions. “He leaves behind a legacy that is immutable, both in the lives he touched and the things he accomplished.” Fossinger is running for House District 20 in the fall.

Apuan was also a leader in the Filipino-American community, both in Colorado and nationally.

In the General Assembly, Apuan served on the finance, local government, health and human services and judiciary committees.

Given that his district included Fort Carson, Apuan sponsored several laws and resolutions honoring U.S. military who served in Iraq as well as requiring the state to provide financial aid to National Guard troops who attend college in Colorado.

Rep. Jonathan Singer, a Longmont Democrat, explained that it was remarkable that a peace activist was elected in a district that includes a military base. 

State Sen. Pete Lee, a Colorado Springs Democrat, remembered Apuan’s farewell address at a local event in Colorado Springs after losing the 2010 election. Apuan quoted Teddy Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” speech.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Apuan is survived by a sister, Joy Santiago, who noted on the Council for Justice’s Facebook page that the family is out of work and needs assistance with burial expenses.

The National Federation of Filipino American Associations has scheduled a virtual memorial service for Apuan for May 28th, 6 pm MST. For access, email Giselle Rushford at giselle@larush.com. Please RSVP by noon, May 28.

Correction: Apuan’s birthday is Sept. 30 1964.