Introducing Ben S. Wendelken
| Publication year | 2010 |
| Pages | 55 |
2010, July, Pg. 55. Introducing Ben S. Wendelken
July 2010
Vol. 39, No. 7 [Page 55]
About the Authors
William J. Hybl is Chair and CEO of the El Pomar Foundation-wjhybl@elpomar.org. Stephen Lebel is a member of Anderson, Dude, Bailey & Lebel, P.C., one of the oldest locally owned law firms in Colorado Springs-(719) 632-3545.
Ben S. Wendelken, regarded as one of the best legal minds in the West, was born on September 10, 1899, in Colorado Springs. He was the son of a Cripple Creek prospector and labored as a construction worker in 1916 to help build the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. He then served in the U.S. Army during World War I before going to college.
Ben graduated from Colorado College in Colorado Springs at age 23. He received a law degree from the University of Michigan, graduating second in his class. He was admitted to the Colorado Bar in 1925 and was admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1936. He was City Attorney for Colorado Springs from 1931 to 1947. During his sixty-year career as a trial lawyer, Ben handled more than 1,000 cases and earned the prestigious Colorado Bar Association Award of Merit.
Along with his meritorious profession as a trial lawyer, Ben also served as the Broadmoor Hotel's corporate attorney for half a century. Steve Bartolin, President and CEO of the Broadmoor, said recently:
When I started in 1991, Mr. Wendelken was retired but still visited regularly. He went out of his way to make me feel welcome. He impressed me as always being a real gentleman and was very gracious. He was a treasure trove of historical information.(fn1)
The El Pomar Foundation also employed Ben Wendelken as its general counsel, eventually making him a trustee in 1957. He helped to grow the El Pomar Foundation to one of the largest non-profit foundations in the Rocky Mountain West. In my estimation, Ben was a great influence and a pillar of...
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