Joseph W. Morrisey, Jr.

1930 - 2017

If you listen closely, you might hear a Mozart piano concerto playing softly in the background. Or Kris Kristofferson, singing a sad country song. * One of five Irish Catholic siblings, in the year of 1930, Joseph William Morrisey, Jr. was born an Okie from Muskogee to Joseph W. Sr. and Dorothy (Adams) Morrisey. Due to his father's work, Joe moved around a lot, eventually attending four high schools in as many years. He graduated from St. Mary's Cathedral High School in Wichita, KS, received a Bachelors Degree from Wichita State University and later a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. From his relatively humble beginnings, in his 20s, he served as a 2nd Lt. in the Air Force, stationed in San Francisco, where he was exposed to weekend leave, drives on winding coastal roads in a convertible, late nights, unfiltered Pall Malls and witty, complex women. On the G.I. Bill, he headed to the East Coast and Harvard where he replaced his one polyester jacket for tweed & leather elbow patches and met his first wife Gayle (Ames) with whom he had four children and grew a life in Denver, where he blew out his knee playing touch football, played tennis into his 70s, picked up skiing in his 40s and kept in shape his entire life. Joe was a member of the American, Colorado and Denver Bar Associations and practiced corporate and securities law, spending his career at Holme Roberts and Owen for 42 years, where as a senior partner he pioneered the legal aspects of consolidating public oil and gas limited partnerships. There, he was responsible for the corporate, securities and banking legal world of The Anschutz Corporation, Southern Pacific Rail and Associated Natural Gas amongst others, representing Petro-Lewis acquisitions, mergers between Associated Natural Gas and Grand Valley Gas and in his storied career was listed in the Best Lawyers in America. Along the way, Joe spent countless weekends in the office, sometimes in his athletic and sporty tennis shorts. He was passionate about his second wife, Beverly Jo (Lutz) Morrisey of Denver, with whom he gained two stepsons and spent 40 years of well-earned partnership, steadfast loyalty and rather profound love as they sipped wine in Paris, crashed a hot air balloon into a rice field outside Cairo on the banks of the Nile, drove down to Santa Fe for the holidays (and the best Mexican food), even dropped out for 4 months at the height of his career in a low-slung bungalow on the beach in Florida with Molly their dachshund and on occasion did the weekender shuttle to Las Vegas for low-stakes slots & black jack with a few dear friends and family. Together they saved Greyhounds Pinky & Mike and Chance & Meadow, providing them with both new life and a "winning lotto ticket" because man, were those dogs spoiled. At 86 years old, at 2:05am, January 5, Joe died of lung failure peacefully in Denver, CO surrounded by loved ones near and far — and as Bev so aptly put it, "now he knows whether there is a God." He leaves his wife Beverly Jo Morrisey and two marriages worth of kids: Andy and April (Whitten) Miller, Kirk Miller, Kate (Morrisey) & John Derwin, Carole (Morrisey) & Joe Echanis, Alison Morrisey & John Lebhar and William Morrisey & Eduardo Graça, as well as some 14 grandchildren. Joe is survived by his sisters Ann (Morrisey) Bowen, Patti (Morrisey) Oller and Jeanie (Morrisey) Flynn. At Joe's express wish, there is to be no funeral or burial ceremony. Donations in his memory may be made to Colorado Greyhound Adoption. * If you listen closely, you might hear Joe, saying something wry and honest and perfect about this world.