The love the Denver Broncos have for longtime owner Pat Bowlen was evident last Saturday night when nearly three dozen players and coaches — past and present — turned out for Memories in the Making, a fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association of Colorado.
The art auction and dinner chaired by his daughter, Beth Bowlen Wallace, was held in the team’s new field house in Dove Valley.
Last July, to deal with his own battle with Alzheimer’s disease. The man who had taken the Broncos to six Super Bowls and back-to-back world championships had been diagnosed several years before but had elected to not make it public.
Memories in the Making was the first charity function to be held in the 85,000-square-foot facility that is part of a $35 million expansion of Broncos headquarters in Dove Valley. It raised a record $400,000.
“How humbling it is to see the field house overflowing with people who support the Alzheimer’s Association,” Wallace said. “And it’s extremely meaningful that so many (of the 800-plus guests) are part of the Broncos family.”
Head coach Gary Kubiak and retired coach Red Miller, along with chief executive officer Joe Ellis, were joined by such colleagues as Brock Osweiler, David Bruton Jr., Cody Latimer, Billy Thompson, Karl Mecklenburg, Randy Gradishar, Mark Schlereth, Chris Kuper, Kenny Anunike and Steve Foley.
The highlight of Memories in the Making comes when works by well-known Colorado artists are paired with paintings by patients living with Alzheimer’s or some other form of dementia, and then sold to the highest bidder.
Joe Ellis was high bidder on “Cow,” by William Matthews, which was paired with “Grazing,” by Alzheimer’s artist Susan Olson. Bowlen’s brother, John, put in the winning bid for “The Master and the Masterpiece,” by cartoonist Drew Litton.
Like so many of those present, Chris Binkley, former president of Kaiser Permanente Colorado and vice chair of the association’s national board, has a personal reason for becoming involved.
He recalls saying “no” to president Linda Mitchell when she approached him years ago to seek Kaiser’s support in sponsoring Memories in the Making. “Then my dad was diagnosed, and it changed my life.”
In addition to Binkley, others there to browse, bid and enjoy food from Epicurean Catering and Bar Red were local board chair Tom Hurley; treasurer Dan Thomas and his wife, Barbara; former board member Kelly Rogers; Pui Kalyanamitra, regional vice president for Transamerica; Rich and Julie Wham; Leslie Liedtke; Diane Fatheree and Jim Prugh; Cara and Don Bechter; Lee and Dr. Jessica Johnson; Gary and Donna Antonoff; Don Oberndorf; TJ and Nancy Rhine from Greenhouse Partners; and Sandy and Gary Autrey, high bidders on artist Duke Beardsley’s “A Friend Indeed,” which was paired with “Headed to the Stables” by Alzheimer’s artist Helen Keesey.
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314, jdavidson@ denverpost.com or twitter.com/ joannedavidson
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