First Regular Session
Seventy-fifth General Assembly
STATE OF COLORADO
REVISED
LLS NO. M25-1038.01 Darren Thornberry x4338 HJM25-1001
House Committees Senate Committees
HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 25-1001
M
EMORIALIZING FORMER REPRESENTATIVE RODNEY BOCKENFELD.101
WHEREAS, Rodney Bockenfeld, the former Representative,1
departed this life on February 13, 2025, at the age of 69; and2
WHEREAS, Rodney Joseph Bockenfeld, known to everyone as3
Rod, was born on December 9, 1955, in Quincy, Illinois, to Donald and4
Patricia Bockenfeld; and5
WHEREAS, Representative Bockenfeld was a graduate of6
Catholic Boys High School in Quincy, Illinois, in 1974; Western Illinois7
University in 1978; and the University of Colorado Graduate School of8
Banking in 1990; and9
WHEREAS, Representative Bockenfeld moved to Denver in 197810
and became a fraud investigator for Mountain States Bankcard and later11
met his wife, Susan, while working at Central Bank of Denver in 1984;12
SENATE
Final Reading
April 16, 2025
HOUSE
Final Reading
April 14, 2025
HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
Pugliese and Richardson, Armagost, Bacon, Barron, Bird, Boesenecker, Bottoms,
Bradfield, Bradley, Brooks, Brown, Caldwell, Clifford, DeGraaf, Duran, English, Espenoza,
Froelich, Garcia, Garcia Sander, Gonzalez R., Hamrick, Hartsook, Johnson, Joseph, Keltie,
Lieder, Lindsay, Lindstedt, Luck, Lukens, Mabrey, Marshall, Martinez, Mauro, McCluskie,
McCormick, Ricks, Rutinel, Sirota, Soper, Suckla, Taggart, Titone, Valdez, Velasco,
Weinberg, Willford, Winter T., Woodrow, Woog, Camacho, Carter, Feret, Gilchrist, Jackson,
Paschal, Phillips, Rydin, Smith, Stewart K., Stewart R., Story, Zokaie
SENATE SPONSORSHIP
Kirkmeyer and Pelton R., Amabile, Baisley, Ball, Bridges, Bright, Carson, Catlin,
Coleman, Cutter, Danielson, Daugherty, Exum, Frizell, Hinrichsen, Jodeh, Kipp, Kolker,
Liston, Lundeen, Marchman, Michaelson Jenet, Mullica, Pelton B., Rich, Roberts, Rodriguez,
Simpson, Snyder, Sullivan, Weissman, Winter F., Gonzales J., Wallace
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. and1
WHEREAS, Representative Bockenfeld and Susan Bockenfeld2
were married in 1985 and were blessed with five children: Paul, David,3
Joseph, Jacob, and Erika; and4
WHEREAS, Representative Bockenfeld was high school class5
president for two years and also president of the Denver Chapter of the6
International Association of Credit Card Investigators; and7
WHEREAS, A 20-year career in banking and then owning his own8
financial business for 10 years helped prepare Representative Bockenfeld9
for his political career; he was elected Arapahoe County Commissioner10
for three terms from 2004-2016, served as Chairman of the Board of11
County Commissioners for several of those years, and served on the12
Finance Committee; and13
WHEREAS, Representative Bockenfeld also served as Chairman14
of the Denver Regional Council of Governments for one year as well as15
on several committees for the National Association of Counties; and16
WHEREAS, Representative Bockenfeld was elected in November17
2018 to the Colorado House of Representatives for District 56, which18
included Adams and Arapahoe counties until redistricting in 2022 added19
Cheyenne, El Paso, Elbert, Kit Carson, and Lincoln counties; and20
WHEREAS, Representative Bockenfeld served for three terms21
from 2019-2024, was a member of the Legislative Audit Committee for22
four years, and was a member of the Joint Budget Committee for his final23
term; and24
WHEREAS, Representative Bockenfeld was known for his love25
of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights and for advocating for local government;26
he always viewed legislation with a fiscal eye, prioritizing a balanced27
budget and advocating for K-12 and higher education; and28
WHEREAS, Representative Bockenfeld was honored to serve the29
citizens of Colorado as both an Arapahoe County Commissioner and a30
State Representative; and31
WHEREAS, Representative Bockenfeld was very proud of the32
adults his children have become and cherished the memories of them33
1001
-2- growing up and later the time spent with his grandchildren; and1
WHEREAS, Representative Bockenfeld loved to travel in a motor2
home with his family and visited all but three of the lower 48 states over3
the last 35 years; and4
WHEREAS, Representative Bockenfeld and his wife, Susan,5
enjoyed a final adventure to Germany in 2023, where they visited five6
towns where his ancestors had lived, fulfilling a lifelong dream; and7
WHEREAS, Representative Bockenfeld was predeceased by his8
father Donald Bockenfeld, mother Patricia Meado, brother Jeffrey9
Bockenfeld, beloved son David Strickland, and beautiful granddaughter10
Ryleigh Bockenfeld; and 11
WHEREAS, Representative Bockenfeld is survived by his wife of12
40 years, Susan, son Paul Strickland, son Joseph Bockenfeld, son Jacob13
Bockenfeld, daughter Erika Bockenfeld, brother Jim Bockenfeld, sister14
Donnette Cannady, and eight grandchildren; now, therefore,15
Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Seventy-fifth16
General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate concurring herein:17
That, in the death of Representative Rodney Bockenfeld, the18
people of the State of Colorado have lost a devoted public servant and an19
outstanding citizen, and that we, the members of the Seventy-fifth20
General Assembly, pay tribute to Rod Bockenfeld for years of dedicated21
public service and extend our deep and heartfelt sympathy to the members22
of the family.23
Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Memorial be sent to24
Susan Bockenfeld, Erika Bockenfeld, Joseph Bockenfeld, Jacob25
Bockenfeld, James Bockenfeld, Paul Strickland, and Donnette Cannady.26
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