Jim Gardner was the go-to guy when people in Park County wanted a history lesson.
Gardner, who died of cancer at his Fairplay home May 19, was 56.
A celebration of his life is planned for 2 p.m. June 4 at the South Park school cafetorium in Fairplay.
Gardner was a third-generation Park County resident and “was the embodiment of Park County,” said Leni Walker, who served with Gardner as a county commissioner. “He is irreplaceable.”
He was dedicated to the county and became its “hero” when the county fought a years-long battle to keep the city of Aurora from taking its water, said Steve Groome, county attorney.
Gardner led a group of plaintiffs in fighting the battle, literally collaring people on the street or going to their homes to convince them of the importance of saving the county’s water and not selling their water rights to Aurora, Groome said.
“Jim was the nicest, most easygoing guy you ever knew, but he rose to the occasion,” Groome said. “It was like a David and Goliath battle.”
The county levied a 1 percent sales tax to finance the fight. The case was settled this year in Park County’s favor by the Colorado Supreme Court. The total cost was more than $1.1 million.
Gardner was one of the best-known residents of the area and the most easily spotted, said John Tighe, a Park County commissioner. Gardner had a bushy red beard and a long, red ponytail, which he tucked into his red and white suspenders. He usually wore jeans and often a plaid shirt.
“He was outgoing, believed in personal accountability and that the government ought to get out of everyone’s life,” Walker said.
Gardner also had “a million stories,” she said.
Whether he was serving as commissioner, on the school board or on the planning commission, he always had a story, usually introduced with, “I have just a small story to tell,” said Sandy Berryman, chief administrative officer of Park County.
Gardner had stories “because he had lived here so long,” as had his parents and grandparents, Walker said.
His grandparents homesteaded in Park County in 1920, and the ranch was enlarged over the years from 640 acres to 3,000 acres. Though Jim Gardner kept the ranch, he was never interested in ranching, said his wife, Amanda Gardner. They lease it out.
“I saw pictures of him on a horse and you could tell he wasn’t comfortable,” his wife said.
He made a living with various jobs, such as working in a sawmill and selling aspen to nurseries.
Though he loved the mountains, Gardner wasn’t a backpacker, climber or skier. “He had no need for them,” his wife said. “He worked outside all the time.”
He collected old cars, heavy equipment and trucks, all of which are on the ranch.
Gardner had announced he would run for re-election to the commission but had to withdraw because of his health, Tighe said.
But even during the last few days of his life he was working on county business at home, Tighe said, participating in conference calls with the two other commissioners.
James Gardner was born Feb. 7, 1950, in Raton, N.M., though his parents lived in Fairplay. His mother, the late Mary Gardner, wanted to give birth in a place with better medical facilities, Amanda Gardner said. Jim Gardner graduated from South Park High School in Fairplay.
He married Mary Jo Cordonnier in 1968 and they had two children. They divorced in 1984. He married Amanda Woodbury in 1987. They met through a classified ad he had placed in the newspaper.
He also is survived by a son, Brant Gardner of Lincoln, Neb., and two stepchildren, Samantha Bertin and Benjamin Thober, both of the Fairplay area. He was preceded in death by son Brian Gardner.
Staff writer Virginia Culver can be reached at 303-820-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com.
