Second Regular Session
Seventy-fourth General Assembly
STATE OF COLORADO
INTRODUCED
LLS NO. R24-0928.01 Lauren Hackett x2291
HJR24-1017
House Committees Senate Committees
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 24-1017
C
ONCERNING RENAMING BRIDGE I-04-K ON U.S. HIGHWAY 50 OVER101
THE GUNNISON RIVER AS THE "BRIGADIER GENERAL FELIX102
S
PARKS MEMORIAL BRIDGE".103
WHEREAS, Brigadier General Felix Sparks was a famous resident1
of Delta, Colorado who made significant contributions to the peace,2
safety, and general welfare of our great state and nation as a World War3
II war hero who helped liberate the Dachau concentration camp and was4
also a District Attorney for Colorado's 7th Judicial District, the longtime5
Director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board, an Associate Justice6
of the Colorado Supreme Court, and a Brigadier General of the Colorado7
National Guard; and8
WHEREAS, Sparks was born in San Antonio, Texas on August 2,9
1917, and raised in the small copper mining town of Miami, Arizona; and10
HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
Soper and Weissman,
SENATE SPONSORSHIP
Will and Roberts,
Shading denotes HOUSE amendment. Double underlining denotes SENATE amendment.
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material to be added to existing law.
Dashes through the words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law. WHEREAS, Sparks enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1936 and served1
two years on active duty before joining the Army Reserve and attending2
the University of Arizona; and3
WHEREAS, Sparks was called to active duty for World War II in4
1939 and commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1940; and5
WHEREAS, Through combat in Sicily, Italy, France, and6
Germany, Sparks served with the 45th Infantry Division's 157th Infantry7
Regiment and, near the end of the war, was commander of the 157th8
Infantry's 3rd Battalion, which he led during the liberation of the Dachau9
concentration camp; and10
WHEREAS, Sparks was awarded the French Croix de Guerre and11
twice awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his wartime efforts;12
and13
WHEREAS, After the war, Sparks came to Colorado where he14
attended law school at the University of Colorado, graduated with his15
Bachelor of Laws degree in 1947, and immediately began practicing law16
in Delta, Colorado at the law firm of Sparks, Willett, Conklin, and17
Carroll; and18
WHEREAS, Sparks' law firm and the names associated with it19
would go on to make history, with Willett's son, Yeulin Willett, and20
Carroll's granddaughter, Morgan Carroll, serving in the Colorado state21
legislature and Charles Conklin serving as Speaker of the House from22
1957 until 1960; and23
WHEREAS, In 1948, Sparks was elected District Attorney for the24
7th Judicial District, and he served as an Associate Justice of the25
Colorado Supreme Court in 1956; and26
WHEREAS, In 1958, Sparks was appointed Director of the27
Colorado Water Conservation Board, a position he maintained until his28
retirement in 1979; and29
WHEREAS, Along with his leadership on the Colorado Water30
Conservation Board, Sparks was a commissioner on the Upper Colorado31
River Commission and represented the state in important water resource32
management negotiations including negotiations that led to the passage33
HJR24-1017
-2- of the 1968 Colorado River Basin Project Act; and 1
WHEREAS, Sparks' work on the Colorado Water Conservation2
Board and Upper Colorado River Commission led to the funding and3
construction of several Colorado river projects including the Dolores4
Project, the Dallas Creek Project, and the Animas-La Plata Project; and5
WHEREAS, Sparks was a lead drafter on the 1969 Water Rights6
Determination and Administration Act, and in 1972 he took a lead role in7
developing Colorado's initial instream flow protection program; and8
WHEREAS, Sparks continued his military service until 1977,9
working his way up the ranks of the Colorado National Guard and10
eventually being promoted to Brigadier General and serving as Assistant11
Adjutant General for Army and Commander of the Colorado Army12
National Guard; and13
WHEREAS, On September 25, 2007, at the age of 90, Sparks14
passed away of pneumonia in Denver; and15
WHEREAS, In 2020, Netflix released a docudrama titled "The16
Liberator" that is based on Sparks' leading of his battalion to free the17
prisoners of the Dachau concentration camp in World War II; and 18
WHEREAS, While Sparks may be best remembered for his heroic19
military career, he was also one of our state's most accomplished leaders20
in water legislation, and his work continues to have ripple effects to this21
day; now, therefore,22
Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the23
Seventy-fourth General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate24
concurring herein:25
That it is fitting and proper to rename the U.S. highway 50 bridge26
over the Gunnison river in Delta as the "Brigadier General Felix Sparks27
Memorial Bridge", and that funds from gifts, grants, and donations be28
used to pay for appropriate signage indicating the bridge's name.29
Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent30
to the Colorado Department of Transportation, the Colorado Water31
Conservation Board, the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, the32
City of Delta, Delta County, the Colorado River District, the Delta33
HJR24-1017
-3- County Historical Society, and members of the Sparks family. 1
HJR24-1017
-4-