Robert DeNier Obituary

A man who believed in serving others and did so all his life, former Southwest Colorado lawmaker Robert E. DeNier died

Wednesday. He was 88.

He first came to Durango to work in law enforcement.

After graduating from the University of Denver with a degree in business administration after World War II, DeNier

learned the FBI was recruiting.

“They were looking for a few good men, and he accepted the challenge," said his daughter, Donna Claus.

DeNier became a special agent and was stationed in Birmingham, Ala., and New York City before being sent to the

Denver office. From there, the FBI sent him to Durango to start a new office.

For 20 years, he was the sole FBI agent in Southwest Colorado, covering everything from the San Luis Valley to the

Utah border. He didn't talk much about his cases or experiences during that time, family and friends said.

“I remember being impressed by one of his talks at Toastmasters," said Robert Beers, who was a charter member along

with DeNier of the club in the 1950s. “It had to do with the procedure he and his cohorts used in an arrest. He

pulled his gun out to demonstrate, and he was so quick, you couldn't even see his hands. He was a perfect example of

the FBI."

After retiring from the FBI in 1974, he worked as a deputy for the La Plata County Sheriff's Office for several

years.

DeNier had attended night classes at Adams State College in Alamosa, where he earned a teaching certificate and a

master's degree in counseling. He did his student teaching in the Smiley Building when it was part of Durango High

School.

“Youth were always a passion for him, and he yearned to keep kids out of trouble and to take kids who were in trouble

and show them a better road to travel," his daughter said.

DeNier's work with youths at risk during his life led to the new youth services center being named in his honor.

And then politics beckoned. DeNier, a Republican, served three terms in the Colorado House of Representatives from

1977 to 1982 and one term in the Colorado Senate from 1987 to 1990. For eight years, DeNier was on the powerful Joint

Budget Committee - two years as chairman and three as vice-chairman. DeNier also served as chairman of the House

Appropriations Committee from 1979 to 1982, and of the Senate's Appropriations Committee from 1988 to 1990.

DeNier also was selected to run on the Republican ticket for lieutenant governor in a failed campaign.

Jim Dyer, an ardent Democrat, was in the House when DeNier was in the Senate.

“Bob was really a mentor for Jim, back in the days when Republicans and Democrats worked together," said Dyer's wife,

Shari.

Clarice D'Arcy was the treasurer for all of DeNier's campaigns.

“He was honest and very serious about what he'd been given to do," she said. “He would go door to door to talk to

people and hear what they thought. But he was a politician. He knew that if people met him, they might just like him.

And they did."

Robert Eugene DeNier was born to Dale and Jessie Ann DeNier on Oct. 20, 1921, in Denver. He grew up during the

Depression and graduated from South High School in Denver in 1939. After attending a year and a half at the

University of Denver, DeNier joined many young Americans and enlisted in the military. He was assigned to the Army's

Signal Corps in Europe during World War II.

“He was delivering messages between the ground troops and the Army Air Corps," his daughter said. “He spoke of

covering his headlights with tape, leaving only a slit of light to illuminate his way across miles of bombed-out land

in his jeep, sometimes behind enemy lines, to give the lifesaving information to the commanders of the troops."

DeNier was on a troop ship headed for the South Pacific when news of the Japanese surrender arrived. He was

discharged in November 1945 and married Wilma Spargo on Nov. 27,1945, in Denver.

DeNier learned to ski at Chapman Hill and advanced to Hesperus Ski Area. When Purgatory Ski Area opened, the whole

family spent every spare moment there. Family summers were filled with waterskiing at Vallecito Reservoir and Navajo

Lake.

While DeNier never learned to read music, he loved it immensely. He was a member of the Barbershop Chorus of the

Narrow Gauge, First United Methodist Church Chancel Choir and the Drum & Bugle Corps under the direction of Al

Ruland for many years.

“Good" was a word many used about DeNier.

Dorothy Gore said he was a “good bridge player and good friend."

Duane Smith, who sang in the church choir and played softball with DeNier for many years agreed with the adjective.

“He was a good friend, a good softball player and a good citizen," he said.

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