U.S. District Judge Daniel Sparr, who presided over cases ranging from domestic abuse to political-campaign spending, died Nov. 9 at age 75.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at West Bowles Community Church, 12325 W. Bowles Ave.
Sparr was a judge “you could rely on to get the job done,” said U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch.
“He was quiet, not like some district judges,” said Matsch, laughing. “He knew how to do the job without any fuss and feathers or making a big splash. I think that’s good.”
Sparr, who was retired to senior status as a judge, moved to Colorado Springs three years ago. Despite the semiretirement, he heard cases there when his services were needed, said his son, Steve Sparr of Denver.
“He was a dedicated, reliable judge,” said Lewis Babcock, chief judge of the U.S. District Court, Colorado district.
“He believed in the rule of law, in fairness and justice,” said Babcock, who was a colleague of Sparr’s for several years.
Sparr was still hearing cases in Denver as recently as last spring, said Judy Poor, his secretary for years.
She described him as “a down-to-earth man who treated us all like family.”
Sparr and his wife, Sue, lived west of Denver in Genesee for several years. Both avid water skiers, they would sometimes hit the lake at 7 a.m.
“They would have gone at 6 a.m. if my mom could’ve hauled Dad out of bed earlier,” Steve Sparr said.
Daniel B. Sparr was born in Denver in 1931 and graduated from North High School and the University of Denver.
He served in Korea with the Air Force, then got a job with Mountain Bell, supervising telephone operators.
He and his wife had three small sons when he decided to go to law school.
He was a trial lawyer before being named a judge in Denver District Court, where he served until being named a federal judge in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush.
Babcock said he didn’t know if Sparr had favorite cases but said he liked those “where the lawyers were professional, civil and prepared.”
In addition to his wife and son, Sparr is survived by another son, Mike Sparr of Colorado Springs, and two grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by a son, Douglas Sparr, 34, a nightclub disc jockey who was beaten and stabbed to death in his home in 1992. A 20-year-old woman and two teenagers – a boy and a girl, all acquaintances of Sparr’s – were found guilty and given long prison sentences.
Asked how his father survived his son’s death, Steve Sparr said, “It was his faith in God, and he knew Doug believed in God.”
Staff writer Virginia Culver can be reached at vculver@denverpost.com or 303-954-1223.
