In Memoriam, 0720 COBJ, Vol. 49, No. 7 Pg. 58
| Position | Vol. 49, 7 [Page 58] |
IN MEMORIAM
Charles R. Cuchiara Jr.
July 26, 1952-February 13, 2020
Lakewood attorney Charles R. "Charlie" Cuchiara Jr. passed away on February 13, 2020. He is survived by his wife Sandy, his daughter Alyssa (Kyle) Koelbel and first grandchild (due in March), his brothers Dennis (Darlene) and Kenny (Susan) Cuchiara, and his sister Marianne Cuchiara Everett, as well as many nieces, nephews, cousins, and dear friends. Donations in his honor may be made to the Kidney Cancer Association.
Jeanne E. Darricades
December 29, 1952-April 22, 2020
Jeanne E. "Gigi" Darricades of Alamosa died peacefully on April 22, 2020 after a courageous five-year journey with an incurable cancer. Gigi was born and spent her early childhood in Chuquicamata, Chile. She attended and graduated from Bishop Strachan Boarding School in Toronto, Canada. Gigi moved to California and attended the University of California-Berkeley, where she received a BA in political science and a master's in public health.
In 1978 she moved to Gallup, New Mexico as administrator of the McKinley General Hospital after working in Albuquerque as the assistant regional administrator for the Presbyterian Hospital Center. It was there that she met her husband, Mike Gibson. They moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1981 where she joined Inter mountain Health Care Inc. serving in various capacities, including director of medical affairs.
While in Salt Lake City she earned her JD from the University of Utah, and subsequently was admitted to the Bar in New Mexico, Wyoming, and Colorado. Mike and Gigi moved to Gillette, Wyoming, where she practiced health care law. They moved to Colorado in 1997, first living in Craig and then Alamosa, where she continued to practice health care law. She subsequently practiced environmental law and became an expert in land conservation law, representing the Rio Grande Land Trust and numerous private landowners.
In 2011 she was appointed president and CEO of Valley Wide Health Systems. In this capacity she and her management team added clinics to the organization in San Luis, Antonito, Monte Vista, and Canon City. The new Canon City Health Center was dedicated to Gigi on June 11, 2019. She served as an officer on a number of statewide boards, including the Medicaid Provider Rate Advisory Committee, Colorado Foundation for Universal Health Care, Colorado Community Managed Health Care Network, and Colorado Community Health Network. The latter organization recognized her contributions by naming her the CHAMPS 2018 Stanley J. Brasher Legacy Award Winner, recognizing her dedication to solving problems of health, poverty, and human rights. In 2020 the organization declared March 6 "Gigi Darricades Day." She retired from Valley Wide in 2019.
In Alamosa she embraced the community by serving on several boards, including KRZA, the community radio station, the San Luis Valley Immigrant Resource Center, Adams State College, and the San Luis Valley Federal Bank. She was a supporter of nonprofits, including La Puente, the San Luis Valley Animal League, the Boys and Girls Club, the Rio Grande Headwaters Restoration Project, and the Rio Grande Land Trust.
Gigi enjoyed traveling with Mike as they visited England, Africa, Cuba, and Canada. While in New Mexico she fell in love with ballooning, and in Utah she obtained her commercial hot air balloon certification. She and Mike participated in numerous balloon rallies and they organized a trip to England to fly there with friends. She also loved challenges on the ground and enjoyed white water rafting.
In addition to her parents, Gigi is preceded in death by her sister Irene "Renee" Cox. She is survived by her husband of 38 years, Mike Gibson; sister Constance "Tonton" (Edwin) Baumgartner; brother in-law Sandy Cox; sister in-law Miriam (Simon) Richardson; and many nieces, nephews, and great nieces and nephews.
Donations in Gigi's may be made to the San Luis Valley Immigrant Resource Center, 225 6th Street, Suite B, PO Box 1534, Alamosa, CO 81101.
John DeBruyn
July 7,1939-May 1, 2020
On May 1, the Colorado, national tax, trust and estates, probate, and business bars all lost one of their finest, most highly respected and collegial members when John DeBruyn passed away following a long, valiant battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife Susan, his son Peter, and grandchildren Audra and Daniel.
The middle of three brothers, John and his older brother Bob both pursued careers in law. Their younger brother Paul remained in the Northwest to carry on the family's large-equipment business in Seattle.
After receiving his JD from Wllamette University in Salem, Oregon, John was awarded an LLM in taxation from New York University in 1966. So, too, was brother Bob. (Depending on which brother was telling the story, the raconteur was #1 in his class; his sibling a distant and lowly #2 in his.)
Upon graduation, John was appointed, under the Attorney General's Honors Program, to the position of trial attorney in the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington D.C. For the next seven years, "riding circuit" throughout the country, he...
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