Gerry Difford went to so many meetings that his wife, Kristi, decided to call his memorial service a meeting and had the speakers sit at a rectangular table.
Difford, former superintendent of Jefferson County Schools, died at his home Aug. 18 after an eight-year battle with multiple myeloma. He was 69.
An educator for 42 years, “he spent his life in meetings,” said his daughter, Darla Daniel of Littleton. “But he never complained about them or about anything else.”
Six men and two women sat at the table at Mile Hi Church of Religious Science in Lakewood to talk about Difford.
The important thing to Charlie Horn of Arvada was “we were co-conspirators in the adventure of life. He was my buddy, you know, like male bonding. We fished, and we sat around the campfire and talked about our lives and families and hopes and desires.”
Horn added: “Gerry gave me my first job as a principal, at Ken Caryl Junior High. He was a good administrator because he had a can-do attitude.”
Difford was assistant to the commissioner of education of Colorado until 2007. Before that he was assistant superintendent of the Cherry Creek School District, executive director of the Colorado Association of School Executives, and finance director of Jefferson County Schools before becoming superintendent there. He also served as principal of Golden and Columbine high schools.
An avid outdoorsman, he co-founded a company, Mountain Bound Adventures, in which he led students on week-long hiking trips. He loved fishing and made his last trip in June, fishing for salmon in Alaska. “I think he knew that would be his last fishing trip,” his wife said.
Gerald Alfred Difford was born in Cleveland on April 4, 1939, and graduated from Champion High School in Warren, Ohio.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in education from Ohio State University, a master’s in school administration from the University of Denver and a doctorate in education from Stanford University. He taught science for two years and spent the rest of his career in administration, his wife said.
His first marriage, to Linda Hunt, ended in divorce. They had two children. He married Kristi Simmons on July 25, 1987.
In addition to his wife and daughter, he is survived by another daughter, Elise Adamson of Friendswood, Texas; a stepson, Beau Simmons of Golden; one grandchild; and two sisters, Joyce Benoit of Dallas and Joan Cummerick of Pennsylvania.
Virginia Culver: 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com
