Tom DeVine Sr., Mark Pautler, Ron Servis, and Anne Wilcox
June 2024
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Thomas L. DeVine Sr.
August 28, 1953–April 30, 2024
Thomas Lee DeVine Sr., a cherished son, brother, husband, father, and grandfather, died peacefully on April 30, 2024, at the age of 70.
Tom was born in Watertown, South Dakota, the fourth of six children born to Russell and Evelyn DeVine. He met his wife, Deb, when they were in eighth grade, and spent the next few years wooing her by pretending he was failing classes just so he could call her to ask for “help” with his homework. He graduated from Watertown High School in 1971 and attended the University of South Dakota, where he joined the Delta Tau Delta fraternity and got in enough trouble to have really good stories but not enough to prevent him from graduating in 1975. Tom married Deb a few weeks later, on July 19, 1975.
The young couple moved to Colorado, where they had their first daughter, Angela. Work soon moved the young family to Harlingen, Texas, where a son, Thomas Jr., and another daughter, Anne, were born. Their years in the Rio Grande Valley introduced the family of five to South Padre Island, which would remain a favorite destination for them. Job transfers then took Tom and his family to San Antonio, Texas, and Anaheim, California, before bringing them back to Colorado in 1986.
When Tom was 35, he decided to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a lawyer. He spent the next three and a half years going to night school at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law while also working a full-time job, paying a mortgage, and taking care of three kids and a dog. He earned his JD in 1992 and spent the next 31 years happily working in a profession he made more noble by his membership in it.
Tom became a leader in real estate law, speaking at the annual real estate symposium several times, serving six years on the CBA Real Estate Section’s Executive Council, including as its chair; co-authoring the Colorado chapter in the second and third editions of the ABA treatise Commercial Lending Law: A Jurisdiction by Jurisdiction Guide to U.S. and Canadian Law; and authoring the Deeds of Trust chapter of CBA-CLE’s Colorado Real Estate Forms Handbook. Tom worked at a handful of prestigious law firms in Colorado and the West, with his last 11 years at Holland & Hart. He became licensed to practice in Texas in 2000, and he proudly retook his Colorado oath of admission in 2004 when two of his children also became lawyers.
In 2009, Tom was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He promised his kids that he would die with lymphoma and not from it, and he kept that promise with the help of Deb, a well-respected oncology nurse who hand-selected Tom’s doctors and nurses, went to all of Tom’s appointments, and coordinated his care with specialists.
Tom also promised himself that he would live long enough that all of his grandkids would remember him. At the time, he had one granddaughter. By 2024, Tom had eight grandchildren, and every one of them will remember their “Papa.” In the last years of his life, nothing brought Tom more joy than those eight grandchildren. He often quipped, “If I had known how much more fun being a grandparent was than being a parent, I would have done it first.”
Having lymphoma never defined Tom. He continued to work, to play golf, to fish, and to travel, going to Scottland four times, northern British Columbia four times, Paris once, and South Padre Island too many times to count. In 2020, Tom and Deb bought a second home on South Padre Island and became “winter Texans.” The couple spent the first part of 2024 on the island, where they hosted friends and family, ate their fill of fish tacos, and watched the sun melt into the Laguna Madre over cocktails, and where Tom rode his bike 10 miles almost every day.
Tom enjoyed the mental challenge and professional satisfaction of being a lawyer, but in his final days, his proudest accomplishments in life were those that occurred outside of the office: a happy marriage of nearly 50 years, children who are finding their own professional success while keeping their primary focus on their own families, friendships that spanned decades, and an impact on others that is beyond measure.
Tom is survived by his wife, Deb; his three children and their spouses, Angie (Dayro), Tom (Megan), and Annie (Jimmy); his eight grandchildren, Audrey (15), Laurel (13), Finnegan (13), Ronan (10), Evie (9), Cormac (8), Clara (6) and Lucy (5); his mother, Evelyn (102); his sisters Patricia and Michele; his brother, Tim; and 16 nieces and nephews. Tom was predeceased by his father, Russ; his oldest brother, Terry; and his youngest sister, Lisa.
Donations in Tom’s name may be made to the University of Colorado Anschutz nursing education fund (https://give.communityfunded.com/o/university-of-colorado-anschutz-56/i/anschutz-memorial-giving-sample/s/thomas-devine-sr-memorial-fund); the Holland & Hart Foundation (555 17th St., Ste. 3200, c/o Corporate Group Paralegal, Denver, CO 80202); or Abiding Hope Lutheran Church, 6337 South Robb Way, Littleton, CP 80127.
Mark C. Pautler
April 6, 1942–April 6, 2024
Mark Christopher Pautler, age 82, passed away unexpectedly on April 6, 2024.
Mark was born on April 6, 1942, and grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. He attended St. Louis University High School and then completed six years at St. Stanislaus Jesuit Seminary in Florissant, Missouri. In 1968, while contemplating whether to continue his future in the Jesuit priesthood, Mark asked to be transferred to Denver to teach at Regis Jesuit High School, where in addition to his academic responsibilities he established Regis’s first soccer program. Upon deciding to leave the priesthood, he met and married his first wife, Cheryl, and they established their family life together. Mark completed his law degree at the University of Denver night school program while working as a program administrator with the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice.
Mark went on to dedicate his professional life to criminal justice and service to his community. He was a fierce advocate for law enforcement and worked as a chief deputy district attorney for some 30 years. He was the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office point person for handling every critical incident and mass casualty event, including the Columbine school shooting tragedy. He taught at the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Academy for many years, lectured around the country on the handling of mass casualty events, and served on the board and ultimately as president of the First Judicial District Bar Association. He served on statewide committees overseeing and developing criminal justice legislation. Upon retiring from the DA’s Office, he achieved the zenith of his professional career by serving for 10 years as an associate municipal judge for the communities of Lakewood and Mountain View.
Outside of work, Mark was an avid golfer, pickleball player, bowler, and trivia whiz, and he considered himself quite skilled on the dance floor. But most important, he was a devoted husband, a dedicated father, and a proud grandfather. He will be remembered by so many for his compassion, personal warmth, sense of fun, and wild sense of humor.
Mark is survived by his beloved wife of 31 years, Betsy; his sons, Chris (Tess) and Dan; his stepson, Ryan (Karla); and his four grandchildren, Tyler, Kylie, Sebastian, and Lucas. He is also survived by his brother, Bill (Rose), and nieces, Aimee (Bill), Melissa (Keith), and Katie (Rachel).
Donations in Mark’s name may be made to the Salvation Army.
Ronald W. Servis
October 31, 1948–April 19, 2024
Ronald W. Servis, 75, of Granby, Colorado, passed away in one of his favorite places, the mountains of Colorado.
Ron was born the oldest of three children to William and Valentine Servis in Spencerport, New York, on October 31, 1948. He graduated from Spencerport Central High School in 1966. Ron then attended College of Brockport, New York, in 1970. Before his graduation, he entered the US Navy Officer Candidate School and served during Vietnam. During his time in the US Navy, he was stationed all over the world.
Ron attended law school at Lewis University (now Northern Illinois University College of Law), graduating in 1978. After passing the bar in Illinois and Colorado, he moved to Colorado to start his law practice and career. He found his love of law in probate and estate law and took great pride in being the fourth-generation attorney within the family. While running his law practice, Ron ended his US military career when he was honorably discharged as a captain with the US Naval Station in Great Lakes, Illinois, in 2001.
Ron wore many titles: captain, husband, father, grandfather, brother, son, friend, volunteer, and many others. He also served time on the board of numerous organizations, including the US Navy, the Colorado Bar Association, the VFW, NSCD Skiing, Adaptive Adventures, and the Lutheran Church of Granby. Ron loved being busy! Well respected by colleagues, Ron was generous with his time but devoted himself most to family and friends.
Ron was a proud father and loving husband. He enjoyed teaching his kids to ski and traveling the world. Ron had an enormous heart and made strong connections with all of those around. He was always quick to lend a helping hand to anyone in need. He was larger than life and lit up the room wherever he went. He will be truly missed.
Ron is survived by his three children from his first marriage to Eileen Matiash, sons Embry (Alissa) and Colin and daughter Krystyn “Kricket”; his two grandsons, Henry and Griffin; and his brother, Terry (Eileen), and sister, Kim (Jeff) Powell. Ron remarried five years ago to Judy A. Servis, and gained five children, 17 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Ron and Judy met at the courthouse, and together they enjoyed traveling the world, wearing matching clothes, and spending time with each other, particularly in the mountains. Ron and Judy were buried alongside one another at Fort Logan National Cemetery on May 2, 2024.
M. Anne Wilcox
January 13, 1948–January 21, 2024
Anne Wilcox died on January 21, 2024, after a long illness. Anne was admitted to practice in Colorado in early 1984 after moving to Denver from Indiana, where she and her husband had their practice. They continued practicing together as Wilcox & Ogden, P.C. until her retirement in 2011.
Anne was a summa cum laude graduate of Indiana University McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis in 1976. She was one of two women in her freshman class at a time when the school had no restrooms for women and women were less than welcome in the profession. Anne was on the school’s national moot court team at the same time she was an undergraduate at the Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis campus, where she was a national champion debater. She received her bachelor’s and law degrees on the same date. In her third year of law school, Anne added to her workload by becoming a public defender.
After she graduated with both degrees, Anne taught speech and debate at the undergraduate level and taught evening speech classes for high school students. A year after graduating, she had her own one-woman firm and represented both civil and criminal clients in all kinds of cases. She was joined by her future husband, Ralph Ogden, in early 1979, when the firm became Wilcox & Ogden, P.C.
While in Indiana, Anne was appointed to the Indiana Supreme Court’s Committee on Character and Fitness. She served as an appellate public defender for Judge Webster Brewer’s Marion County Criminal Court for several years and was so respected that she was chosen by other attorneys to be a special judge in numerous civil and criminal cases.
In one divorce case, the parties were arguing over their Tupperware. Growing weary of the dispute, Anne awarded the tops to the husband and the bottoms to the wife, and then told them to either work it out or appeal her decision.
She presided over a first-degree murder case in which the defendant had confessed to his brother, who was in the Army at the time of trial. That confession was a major piece of the prosecution’s case. Anne had to work with the Army to get it to honor her subpoena. She later said it was the most difficult case she ever presided over because she had to force one brother to testify against the other. His tearful testimony about his brother’s confession helped convince the jury to convict.
Anne tried the first criminal contempt case brought by the Indiana Supreme Court in over 100 years (In re Perrello, 270 Ind. 390, 386 N.E.2d 174 (1979)). She represented attorney defendants in disciplinary cases in Indiana, South Carolina, Texas, Arizona, and Alabama and was instrumental in forcing changes to restrictive attorney advertising rules in several of these states on First Amendment grounds.
Anne was the firm’s trial partner. She tried more than 100 civil and criminal jury trials in Indiana, Colorado, South Carolina, and Alabama. She was the first woman to try a civil jury case in South Carolina and Alabama and one of the first in Indiana. In a Hendricks County, Indiana, circuit court case, she won the first Indiana jury award of punitive damages against a dishonest attorney. She represented the Indiana State Employees Association in a federal lawsuit that resulted in the end of Indiana’s strict political approval requirements for government jobs (Indiana State Employees Ass’n v. Indiana Republican State Central Committee, 630 F.Supp. 1194 (S.D. Ind. 1986)).
Anne represented Purdue University’s retired female professors in a Title VII case in which the teachers’ retirement fund paid them less each month than similarly situated men (on the basis that women, on average, lived longer than men). The federal judge ruled that this violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and that the retirement fund had to pay female professors the same monthly benefits as their male counterparts.
Anne’s most notable case was winning a declaratory judgment in the Adams County District Court that Colorado’s ban on same gender marriages violated the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Anne taught lay public defenders in Cambodia in 1996. She served as president of the Denver Tech Center Rotary Club during the year the club received the Paul Harris Award for the best club out of 63 in District 5450. She and her husband hosted secondary students from China, Chile, Argentina, France, Iraq, Nicaragua, Belize, and Israel.
Anne is survived by her son, Christopher; her two adopted children from Cambodia, Theavy Sok and Sok Serey Tao; her two foster children, Samuel Kirapash from Kenya and Samantha Bermudez from Nicaragua; and her husband, Ralph Ogden.
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