Daniel Ladd

Dan’s life journey began in Denver, Colorado, first-born son of Warren and Nona Ladd. Dan became a big brother less than two years later to Richard, which is when he started helping his siblings and began his role as a guiding light, someone to look up to. Warren, Kathleen, and Christie Ladd came next within a decade, later followed by Laurie and Julie DuCharme. His parents and sister, Kathy, preceded him in death. After graduating high school in 1965, Dan began his life-long, dedicated career of service. He started as an ambulance driver in Denver until he joined the US Army six months later. There he served as a military policeman, achieved the rank of Corporal, and was discharged in October 1966. In December 1967, Dan joined the Arvada Police Department. Early on in his time with the PD, he was shot in the line of duty. He was extremely disappointed for the rest of his life that he had not been awarded a Purple Heart. While working on the force, he went to college, earned a Bachelor of Science in Public Administration and also taught at Red Rocks Community College. He was the recipient of The Colorado Governor’s Meritorious Performance Award. His last assignment was as a mid-level manager of the department communication center where he supervised up to 22 police officers. Dan retired as Sergeant after more than 21 years of service. Dan then joined the Wheat Ridge Fire Protection District. He was certified as a Uniform Fire Code Inspector, and achieved the position of District Manager until he left in September 2000. In February 2005, he became a Special Deputy United States Marshal. Upon completion of that service, he received a special award plaque which stated: “You have served the service with dignity and integrity, and have distinguished yourself while serving as a Court Security Officer on numerous occasions within the United States Federal Courthouses. Your professionalism and dedication, combined with your initiative and performance, made an unbeatable combination. With sincere appreciation from your fellow Special Deputies Feb 14, 2005 – Aug 10, 2010 Dan was always community service oriented and had a dedication for disaster preparedness. Ever the civil servant, his accomplishments included serving on six different Executive Boards of Directors which included six years as Treasurer of Freedom Services Dogs Inc. and seven years as President of Southwest Adams County Fire Protection District. He was recently asked to be on the Planning Board of Lochbuie, and had hoped to honor the dedication of first responders by donating trees and a memorial bench for the soon-to-be built Lochbuie Civic Center. Unfortunately, his illness prohibited those events from happening. Dan learned to cook at a very early age; loved food in general, fish and seafood in particular. He especially loved roses and gardening; planting flowers and trees and going over plant mail-order brochures with delight. Dan loved to shop and dress well. He also loved to go fishing, and enjoyed the Broncos and Rockies. Dan had a dry sense of humor, loved to joke, and had a wonderful smile and laugh. He genuinely cared about and liked working with others. He encouraged others to stretch themselves; to try something different. He had the ability to make people feel special. Dan was young when he married Carolyn and they had a daughter, Stephanie. After that marriage ended, Dan later married Carol. Although they had no children together, Dan was devoted to Carol and her family. Carol passed away in 2003 and was interred at Ft. Logan National Cemetery. Several years later Dan married Patti, although they later divorced. His final years were in Lochbuie with long-time close friend Vickie German who lovingly cared for him until his death. As a loving, thoughtful, and giving person to others to the very end, being diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) was a devastating blow. Yet in positive fashion, he told people that ALS stood for “Always Laughing and Smiling”. In the still of an early Friday morn, he left his service here on earth, left his suffering behind and went into Jesus’ loving arms to eternal peace. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent in his memory to the Rocky Mountain ALS Association, www.alsaco.org.