Ashley Kathryn Boothby

1985 - 2023

Boothby, Ashley Kathryn
March 25, 1985 - March 9, 2023

Ashley Kathryn Boothby, of Denver, Colorado, died on March 9, 2023, after losing an arduous battle with mental illness. She was 37 years old.

Ashley was born on March 25, 1985, to Larry and Susan Boothby in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

A prodigious mind from a young age, Ashley taught herself to read at age 3 and then incessantly recited the Velveteen Rabbit. She attended Graland Country Day School, during which time she developed her love of horses, reading and writing, lacrosse, and swimming. At Colorado Mountain Ranch summer camp, a 10-year-old feminist was born when she was introduced by her counselor to women's studies and equal rights. But it was during her attendance at Kent Denver School that she encountered her true passions: reason, law, and social justice. She shined on the Speech and Debate team, and before her graduation in 2003, interned with the PBS NewsHour and the Colorado State Legislature.

In her professional life, Ashley's thirst for truth and good amazed and impacted her professors, colleagues, and clients. Her journey began at Scripps College in Claremont, California, an all-women's college, where in 2007, she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a dual major in Politics & International Relations as well as American Studies. During her studies and upon graduation, she received many awards that attested to her brilliance.

After college, she began her studies and tireless career as an attorney, showing no fear in always advocating for what was right. After working as the sole paralegal at Fox and Robertson, a small civil rights/ADA firm in Denver, she received her Juris Doctor from the University of Colorado Law School in Boulder, CO. During law school, she interned for the National Labor Relations Board, interviewing witnesses in unfair labor practices and assisting investigations of violations of federal labor law. As a Dean's Scholar at CU, she graduated in 2013 as a member of the Order of the Coif and first in her class.

After law school graduation, Ashley accepted the challenge of clerking for the Colorado Supreme and U.S. District Courts. For Chief Justice Nancy Rice, she drafted opinions and bench memoranda and assisted in the preparation of oral arguments. For Judge Christine Arguello, she managed a docket of 250+ civil and criminal cases. While clerking, she generously donated her time in teaching what she loved: as an Adjunct Professor of Federal Litigation at the University of Colorado, and as a Speech & Debate Coach at Kent Denver School.

Ashley genuinely loved her work, and through her short but intense career, she made a positive impact for millions of Coloradans. As an Associate Attorney at Kelman Buscher Firm, she represented plaintiffs and classes in the Fair Labor Standards Act and litigated before federal and state courts. As Senior Policy Advisor for the Colorado Division of Labor Standards & Statistics, she continued to investigate systemic labor law violations, then recommended and implemented legal positions protecting workers and advocating for paid sick leave.

In her personal life, Ashley was profoundly loving, generous, and thoughtful. Her kind, impromptu gifts let those she loved and cared for feel her presence, even if she could not be physically there. She collected children's books to donate to prisons, and she sponsored Ho Thi Be Ni, age 6, the daughter of a Vietnamese single mother. She had a smart, ironic, and appreciated sense of humor. She was beautiful. She loved tulips, white orchids, raspberries, candles, shiny jewelry, mirrors, and the beach. She was a voracious reader who loved cuddling up under a blanket and playing fetch with her dog. She experienced peace & solace in yoga, delving deep into the teaching and philosophy of the tradition, and practiced loving kindness meditation. At the time of her death, she was enrolled in Vinyasa and Hatha Yoga teacher training with the intent of teaching yoga to women who had experienced trauma.

Despite her beauty, triumphs and accolades, a decade-long battle with depression and anxiety made her innate glow and grace visible only to others. She lived with incessant chatter from "gremlins" in her head (her terminology), who fed her a narrative of unworthiness. Just as Ashley advocated for truth and justice, her family asks you now to honor her memory by breaking the destructive silence and stigma surrounding mental health, depression, and suicide. May we embody the truth of a beloved quote of hers that she shared with others who were also suffering:

"Perfer et obdura, dolor hic tibi proderit olim / Welcome this pain, for you will learn from it."
- Ovid

Ashley was preceded in death by her grandmothers, Carol Hunter and Ruth Rowley; her grandfathers, Burton Boothby and Clair Rowley; and uncles, Charles (Chuck) Boothby and Robert Rowley.

Ashley is survived by her parents, Laurence (Larry) Boothby and Susan Boothby; her sister, Lindsay Boothby; her brother-in-law, Ramon Guitart Igea; her niece, Carolina Guitart; her nephew, Santiago Guitart; her great-aunt, Janene Duthie; aunts Marilou Keissig, Sharon Lipp, and Jayne Rowley; her uncles, Martin Rowley and Don Orendorff; numerous cousins; and her loyal Manchester Terrier, Winston (Churchill).

The Boothby Family would appreciate if friends and colleagues would share memories and photos of Ashley; this would provide them with comfort as they now walk in her absence.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in her honor to one of the following organizations: Ponzio Creative Arts Therapy Program at Children’s Hospital of Colorado, Heifer International, the Southern Poverty Law Center, NARAL Prochoice Colorado, Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, or the Hope for Depression Research Foundation.

CELEBRATION OF LIFE: 6:00 PM, June 30, 2023. Denver Botanic Gardens, Annual Gardens, 1007 York St, Denver, CO 80206.
https://bcclive.com/aboothby