ROGER THOMASCH

1942 - 2017

THOMASCH, Roger Paul, 74, of Denver, died peacefully on July 14, 2017, surrounded by his family following a battle with cancer. Roger was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., to the late Gordon and Margaret Thomasch. Roger was a corporate litigation attorney whose career spanned 50 years. He appeared before courts throughout the country and tried more than 100 cases to verdict. His clients included Fortune 100 companies, financial institutions, and professional services firms. At the time of his death, Roger was a partner with Ballard Spahr LLP, where he had served as the chair of the firm's litigation department and, for over 20 years, as managing partner of its Denver office. Prior to joining Ballard Spahr, Roger was a trial lawyer for the U.S. Department of Justice, a visiting professor at Drake University Law School, and a partner at Roath and Brega in Denver. Roger was a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. He was routinely ranked among the top business trial lawyers in numerous professional publications, including Chambers USA, The Best Lawyers in America, and Benchmark Litigation. He was named "Best Commercial Litigator" in the 2016 Barrister's Best, and was named to Super Lawyers' "Top 10 Colorado Lawyers" list every year since 2006. In 2017, Roger was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Colorado Chapter of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Roger attended the College of William and Mary and Duke University School of Law. Roger will be remembered for his love of his family and friends, his work and his dogs. Roger is survived by his children, Laura Uzzle and Paul Thomasch; his son-in-law, Brian Uzzle; his daughter-in-law, Angela Moore Thomasch; his grandchildren, Grant and Katherine Uzzle, and Rosemary and Vincent Thomasch; his loving partner, Mary Jane (Janie) Harrington; his siblings, Eileen Stisitis, Mary Thomasch, Daniel Thomasch and James Thomasch; his sisters-in-law, Jeannine Thomasch and Christine Thomasch; and many nieces and nephews. Private services will be held. Family, friends and colleagues are invited to a celebration of Roger's life on July 22nd from 2pm-5pm at the Denver Country Club, 1700 E. 1st Avenue, Denver. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Denver Dumb Friends League ( http://www.ddfl.org ) or the University of Colorado Hospital Foundation, Cancer Center Fund (https://uch.thankyou4caring.org).