The sheep rancher and the lawyer — Tom and Becky Kourlis — have been named Citizens of the West for 2010 and will accept the honor at a Jan. 13 dinner that benefits the National Western Scholarship Trust.
They also are the first legacy recipients; her late parents, Ann and former Gov. John Love, were Citizens of the West in 1989.
The eldest of five children born to Greek immigrants Harry and Effie Kourlis, Tom Kour lis was raised on the family’s ranch in Craig and is a graduate of the University of Denver. In 1994, then-Gov. Roy Romer appointed him state agriculture commissioner.
Kourlis also is a co-founder and past chairman of the American Lamb Board.
Becky was born in Colorado Springs and moved to Denver when her father was elected governor. She enrolled at Stanford University following her graduation from Kent Denver School and returned to Colorado, law degree in hand, to specialize in the practice of natural resources, public lands, oil and gas, and mineral law. She served as a trial court judge in Moffat, Grand and Routt counties before becoming a Colorado Supreme Court Justice in 1995. She left the court 11 years later to establish the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System at DU.
“Becky and Tom are perfect Citizens of the West,” said Dan Ritchie, DU’s former chancellor and current chairman of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. “They live the ideal code of the West every day.”
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com
