2013
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       SENATE MEMORIAL 13-001
       
       
       BY SENATOR(S) Steadman,  Lambert, Hodge, Aguilar, Balmer, Baumgardner,
       Brophy, Cadman, Carroll, Crowder, Giron, Grantham, Guzman, Harvey, Heath,
       Hill, Hudak, Jahn, Jones, Kefalas, Kerr, King, Lundberg, Marble, Newell,
       Nicholson, Renfroe, Roberts, Scheffel, Schwartz, Tochtrop, Todd, Ulibarri,
       Morse.
       
       
          MEMORIALIZING FORMER SENATOR WILLIAM JOSEPH
       SHOEMAKER. 
       
       
          WHEREAS, Our respected former colleague, William Joseph (Joe)
       Shoemaker, a past member of the Colorado Senate, departed this life on
       August 13, 2012, on his 88th birthday; and
       
          WHEREAS, Senator Shoemaker was born in Hawarden, Iowa, on
       August 13, 1924; and
       
          WHEREAS, Senator Shoemaker attended Iowa State University, the
       U.S. Naval Academy, and the University of Iowa Law school where he
       earned his law degree in 1956; and
       
          WHEREAS, Senator Shoemaker married Penny Dykstra on June 18,
       1949, and they were the proud parents of Jean Annette, born
       1952,William Jeffrey, born 1955, Joseph Jay, born 1960, and James
       Dykstra, born 1963; and were the proud grandparents of Elizabeth
       Jeannine Watson, Christopher Scott Watson, Courtney Sanderson
       Shoemaker, Caley Nicole Shoemaker, Lindsey Michelle Shoemaker,
       Camille Dykstra Shoemaker, Savanna Paige Shoemaker, Madison Leigh
       Shoemaker, and Dylan Joseph Shoemaker; and the proud
       great-grandparents of Riley Claire Duggan and Esther Olivia Benson; and
       
          WHEREAS, Senator Shoemaker moved to Denver after earning his
       law degree and launched his career at the respected law firm Holland &
       Hart; and
       
          WHEREAS, Senator Shoemaker began his political career serving as
       chief of staff to former Denver Mayor Richard Batterton, who then
       appointed him Manager of Public Works for Denver and Deputy Mayor;
       and
       
          WHEREAS, Senator Shoemaker was elected to the Colorado Senate
       in 1962 and served from 1963 to 1976; and
       
          WHEREAS, During his tenure in the state Senate, Senator Shoemaker
       served two years as chair and two years as vice-chair of the Joint Budget
       Committee, five years as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee,
       two years as chair of the Senate Services Committee, and two years as
       chair of the Metropolitan Affairs Committee as well as serving on several
       interim committees; and
       
          WHEREAS, Senator Shoemaker led the landmark efforts to create the
       Urban Drainage and Flood Control District and the Colorado County
       Officials and Employees Retirement Association and led the effort to
       establish the Auraria Higher Education Campus; and
       
          WHEREAS, Senator Shoemaker ran for Mayor of Denver in 1971;
       and
       
          WHEREAS, In 1974, Senator Shoemaker, a Republican, was asked
       by Mayor William E. McNichols, Jr., to serve as the Chairman of the
       Platte River Development Committee (the precursor of The Greenway
       Foundation), with a shared goal of reclaiming Denver's birthright, the
       South Platte River; and
       
          WHEREAS, In 1977, Senator Shoemaker published a legendary book
       entitled Budgeting Is the Answer, which describes how the formation and
       continued support of Colorado's unique Joint Budget Committee led to a
       major break from the conventional pattern of governmental budgeting, a
       book that is still used and referred to today; and
       
          WHEREAS, Senator Shoemaker ran for Governor of Colorado in
       1978; and
       
          WHEREAS, Former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb praised Senator
       Shoemaker's efforts, saying: "Joe Shoemaker, more than any one
       individual, transformed the South Platte from a dumping ground and a
       disgrace to a wonderful river that's a source of great pride to all of us
       today," and his praise was echoed by current Denver Mayor Michael
       Hancock; and
       
          WHEREAS, Senator Shoemaker founded the Foundation for Colorado
       State Parks in 1985; and
       
          WHEREAS, Senator Shoemaker oversaw the effort to create a locally
       based partnership to manage Meridian Golf Club, another example of his
       significant business acumen; and
       
          WHEREAS, Senator Shoemaker married Karen Ozias in 2009; and
       
          WHEREAS, Senator Shoemaker was known as "a man of vision and
       boundless energy"; now, therefore,
       
          Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Sixty-ninth General Assembly of
       the State of Colorado:
       
          That in the death of Joe Shoemaker, the people of the state of
       Colorado have lost a dedicated public servant and an outstanding citizen,
       and that we, the members of the Colorado Senate, extend our deep and
       heartfelt sympathy to the members of his family and pay tribute to a man
       who served his state well and faithfully.
       
                    Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Memorial be sent to
       Senator Shoemaker's wife, Karen Ozias Shoemaker of Denver; his
       daughter Jean Watson-Weidner of Lakewood and sons Jeff Shoemaker
       of Denver, Jay Shoemaker of Greenwood Village, and Jim Shoemaker of
       Highlands Ranch.
       
       
       
       
       
       ____________________________  ____________________________
       John P. Morse                         Cindi Markwell
       PRESIDENT OF                            SECRETARY OF
       THE SENATE                                THE SENATE