House Joint Memorial 25-1001 Revised

House Joint Memorial 25-1001

• Page 1, Line 101Memorializing former Representative Rodney Bockenfeld.

• Page 1, Line 1WHEREAS, Rodney Bockenfeld, the former Representative, departed this life on February 13, 2025, at the age of 69; and

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• Page 1, Line 3WHEREAS, Rodney Joseph Bockenfeld, known to everyone as

• Page 1, Line 4Rod, was born on December 9, 1955, in Quincy, Illinois, to Donald and Patricia Bockenfeld; and

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• Page 1, Line 6WHEREAS, Representative Bockenfeld was a graduate of

• Page 1, Line 7Catholic Boys High School in Quincy, Illinois, in 1974; Western Illinois

• Page 1, Line 8University in 1978; and the University of Colorado Graduate School of Banking in 1990; and

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• Page 1, Line 10WHEREAS, Representative Bockenfeld moved to Denver in 1978

• Page 1, Line 11and became a fraud investigator for Mountain States Bankcard and later

• Page 1, Line 12met his wife, Susan, while working at Central Bank of Denver in 1984; and

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• Page 2, Line 2WHEREAS, Representative Bockenfeld and Susan Bockenfeld

• Page 2, Line 3were married in 1985 and were blessed with five children: Paul, David, Joseph, Jacob, and Erika; and

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• Page 2, Line 5WHEREAS, Representative Bockenfeld was high school class

• Page 2, Line 6president for two years and also president of the Denver Chapter of the International Association of Credit Card Investigators; and

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• Page 2, Line 8WHEREAS, A 20-year career in banking and then owning his own

• Page 2, Line 9financial business for 10 years helped prepare Representative Bockenfeld

• Page 2, Line 10for his political career; he was elected Arapahoe County Commissioner

• Page 2, Line 11for three terms from 2004-2016, served as Chairman of the Board of

• Page 2, Line 12County Commissioners for several of those years, and served on the Finance Committee; and

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• Page 2, Line 14WHEREAS, Representative Bockenfeld also served as Chairman

• Page 2, Line 15of the Denver Regional Council of Governments for one year as well as on several committees for the National Association of Counties; and

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• Page 2, Line 17WHEREAS, Representative Bockenfeld was elected in November

• Page 2, Line 182018 to the Colorado House of Representatives for District 56, which

• Page 2, Line 19included Adams and Arapahoe counties until redistricting in 2022 added Cheyenne, El Paso, Elbert, Kit Carson, and Lincoln counties; and

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• Page 2, Line 21WHEREAS, Representative Bockenfeld served for three terms

• Page 2, Line 22from 2019-2024, was a member of the Legislative Audit Committee for

• Page 2, Line 23four years, and was a member of the Joint Budget Committee for his final term; and

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• Page 2, Line 25WHEREAS, Representative Bockenfeld was known for his love

• Page 2, Line 26of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights and for advocating for local government;

• Page 2, Line 27he always viewed legislation with a fiscal eye, prioritizing a balanced budget and advocating for K-12 and higher education; and

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• Page 2, Line 29WHEREAS, Representative Bockenfeld was honored to serve the

• Page 2, Line 30citizens of Colorado as both an Arapahoe County Commissioner and a State Representative; and

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• Page 2, Line 32WHEREAS, Representative Bockenfeld was very proud of the

• Page 2, Line 33adults his children have become and cherished the memories of them growing up and later the time spent with his grandchildren; and

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• Page 3, Line 2WHEREAS, Representative Bockenfeld loved to travel in a motor

• Page 3, Line 3home with his family and visited all but three of the lower 48 states over the last 35 years; and

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• Page 3, Line 5WHEREAS, Representative Bockenfeld and his wife, Susan,

• Page 3, Line 6enjoyed a final adventure to Germany in 2023, where they visited five towns where his ancestors had lived, fulfilling a lifelong dream; and

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• Page 3, Line 8WHEREAS, Representative Bockenfeld was predeceased by his

• Page 3, Line 9father Donald Bockenfeld, mother Patricia Meado, brother Jeffrey

• Page 3, Line 10Bockenfeld, beloved son David Strickland, and beautiful granddaughter Ryleigh Bockenfeld; and

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• Page 3, Line 12WHEREAS, Representative Bockenfeld is survived by his wife of

• Page 3, Line 1340 years, Susan, son Paul Strickland, son Joseph Bockenfeld, son Jacob

• Page 3, Line 14Bockenfeld, daughter Erika Bockenfeld, brother Jim Bockenfeld, sister Donnette Cannady, and eight grandchildren; now, therefore,

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• Page 3, Line 16Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Seventy-fifth General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate concurring herein:

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• Page 3, Line 18That, in the death of Representative Rodney Bockenfeld, the

• Page 3, Line 19people of the State of Colorado have lost a devoted public servant and an

• Page 3, Line 20outstanding citizen, and that we, the members of the Seventy-fifth

• Page 3, Line 21General Assembly, pay tribute to Rod Bockenfeld for years of dedicated

• Page 3, Line 22public service and extend our deep and heartfelt sympathy to the members of the family.

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• Page 3, Line 24Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Memorial be sent to

• Page 3, Line 25Susan Bockenfeld, Erika Bockenfeld, Joseph Bockenfeld, Jacob Bockenfeld, James Bockenfeld, Paul Strickland, and Donnette Cannady.