Hugh McKean, the House Minority Leader known for his quick wit and compassion, died suddenly at his Loveland home early Sunday morning, just three days after his 55th birthday.

The cause of death was a heart attack, according to the Larimer County Coroner. 

Born Oct. 27, 1967 in Bucks County, PA, and raised a Quaker, McKean grew up on a farm in Missouri, but also spent time in Dallas, where he worked at Love Field, and in New Mexico before moving to Colorado. He earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts in 1996 from Colorado State University.

He married Kristin Vollstad. They have two children, son Aiden, 21, and daughter Hanna, 23. They divorced in 2020. 

McKean worked as a general contractor in Loveland beginning in 1994.

He was a reservist with the Coast Guard Auxiliary starting in 2002. Roger Hudson, House GOP deputy chief of staff, told Colorado Politics the Coast Guard was planning to send McKean to the border during the summer but that didn’t take place.

In 2009, McKean ran for and won a seat on the Loveland City Council, his first foray into politics. 

In 2016, with House Minority Leader Brian DelGrosso, also of Loveland, term-limited, McKean threw in his hat for the House District 51 seat.

He first had to win a primary over former CU Regent Tom Lucero, the closest race in his three tries for the state House. He won that primary by just under 4 percentage points. He won a landslide election victory the following November over his Democratic opponent. He didn’t have a Democratic challenger in 2020 and was running unopposed in the general election for his fourth term this year.

McKean was elected minority leader for the House Republican caucus in 2020, after two successive elections in which Republicans lost seats in the lower chamber or failed to regain ground. He led a caucus split between its anti-establishment and centrist wings, no more obvious than the last day of the 2021 session, when the anti-establishment faction demanded a vote of no confidence, one that McKean won on a 15-8 vote. He was the only member who didn’t vote.

Shortly after taking the helm of the caucus, he told Colorado Politics his goal was to empower his members to best represent their constituents.

“That’s kind of what I think is a really new attitude – how do we make each one of our members most successful in serving their districts? Because that’s what ends up serving everyone the best,” he said. “That means that you get the best bills run. You get the best chances for reelection. You get the best contact and input from the people you serve. That’s the biggest difference.”

Despite his party’s minority status, McKean was an effective lawmaker, seeing nearly five dozen House bills he sponsored signed into law. His legislative agenda was focused primarily on small business, water and special needs children, the latter a labor of love tied to a special friend. 

McKean’s his death prompted an outpouring of grief from legislators, friends and other leaders from all walks of political life. He was renowned for his ability to work both within his party, as well as with Democrats, on legislation.

He wasn’t afraid to take on the majority party. He was among his caucus’ most fervent advocates against the 2021 legislation that created the Colorado Option. 

McKean, who presided over a fractious GOP caucus, faced a primary challenge in 2022 from the right, which emphasized the split within the House Republican caucus. McKean won that race in June by nearly 12 percentage points.

Outside of the state Capitol, McKean spent time volunteering, including serving on the boards of Larimer County Open Lands, New Vision Charter School, Thompson School District Master Planning, the Northern Colorado Regional Airport Commission and the Loveland Open Lands Commission.

He is survived by his son and daughter, as well as longtime partner Amy Parks. Funeral arrangements are pending.