Neil King

Neil Caldwell King, a prominent figure in the Boulder legal community and the grandson of Colorado pioneers, died December 12 at age 82. In private practice for nearly 40 years, Neil specialized in land conservation, helping to protect thousands of acres of Boulder County with the purchase of wilderness and historic ranches, including Rabbit Mountain, Caribou Ranch, Boulder Valley Farm and the Heil Valley Ranch. As Boulder City Attorney in the early 1960s, Neil won a landmark zoning case to block construction of a luxury hotel and acquire the 155 acres behind Chautauqua now known as the Enchanted Mesa. The case marked a turning point in Boulder's push to secure a buffer of open space around the city. Born in Denver to Edward and Mary-Jess King, Neil moved as a child to Boulder when his father became dean of the University of Colorado Law School, a position he held for 23 years. Neil graduated in 1950 from Boulder High, where he played varsity basketball, football and tennis. He attended Dartmouth College and C.U., playing varsity basketball at both, and graduating with a law degree in 1956. While at CU he met and married Gretchen Goit, a Minneapolis native who was instrumental in historic preservation efforts and is still active in Boulder arts circles. Together they produced five rambunctious kids: Shannon, Kevin, Neil Jr., Ross and Jeff. Neil marked the third generation of Colorado lawyers. His family, whose roots go back to 17th century Massachusetts, came to Colorado's Western Slope in the 1880s when Neil's grandfather, Alfred Rufus, migrated from Illinois to Delta, where he served as the county's first attorney and Delta mayor. Alfred sat on the State Court of Appeals. The family house in Delta, Garnethurst, is on the National Registry of Historic Places. Neil's mother, Mary Jess, was very active in the Boulder community, as was his father, known widely as Dean King, whose tenure as head of the law school was the longest in the school's history. Neil was a jovial and dashing man, a fierce Colorado partisan, and a fixture of the downtown lunch scene, at departed haunts like Potter's and Fred's, from his office perch in the Colorado Building. He told a good joke, mixed a mean margarita, had a great second serve, knocked off fine watercolors, and tooled about town in a series of classic cars, starting with his yellow convertible '68 Camaro SS. For a spell in the '70s, he and two ex-C.U. basketball players bought and ran the Hill nightclub Tulagi. Like his father before him, Neil started painting in his sixties after he joined Gretchen in Aix en Provence, France, where she was painting. After Gretchen gave him flying lessons for Christmas, he became an avid pilot and flew all over the West. He served on the board of directors of First Interstate Bank and as president of the Boulder County Bar Association. He and Gretchen were active in Republican politics as well as neighborhood associations. He was president of Downtown Boulder Inc. He served as a member of the Dean's Advisory Council at the C.U. Law School and on the Colorado Municipal Lawyers Association. The law school honored him in 2008 as the state's small practitioner of the year. He began his private legal practice with Holmes & King, then became a partner in the law firm of Hollenbeck, King, French & Mills. He served as a special counsel to Berg, Hill, Greenleaf & Ruscitti. He was also a partner in Wyatt Associates, an office building developer, and a partner in Cheyenne Energy, an oil and gas exploration company. He was a member of the University Club and Denver Cactus Club, the Arlberg Club in Winter Park, and Town and Gown in Boulder. Neil and Gretchen's kids have all married and scattered across the country: Shannon, Kevin and Jeff to San Francisco; Ross to Denver and Neil Jr. to Washington D.C. Married for nearly 60 years, they have 13 grandchildren and one great grandchild. A celebration of Neil's life, with a reception to follow, will be held at 11:00 AM January 17th in the courtroom of the C.U. Law School. Contributions can be sent to The Wild Animal Sanctuary (1946 County Road 53, Keenesburg, CO 80643) or the C.U. Law School's Edward C. King Scholarship Fund (www.cufund.org/kingscholarship) or by check to the CU Foundation, 10901 W. 120th Street #200, Broomfield, CO 80021.