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Jorge E. Castillo died at home surrounded by family on March 5, 2026. He was born in Costa Rica on April 24, 1931, son of Miguel and Socorro Castillo, and brother to Carlos Manuel Castillo. A newspaper article in Costa Rica about scholarships at the Colorado School of Mines inspired him to apply, and he graduated with a degree in Geophysics in 1953 with honors. One of his favorite Mines stories involved his final exam in mineralogy. Midway through the exam, he began to worry because the answer to every question was the same: “sphalerite.” After the exam, he drafted a letter to his parents telling them that he had failed. The professor must have had an odd sense of humor, and he earned an “A.”After graduation, Jorge worked for Standard Oil as a geophysicist in Venezuela, Louisiana, Texas, and California before going to law school at the University of Denver. He practiced law for over 60 years and worked with many lawyers, including Molly Edison and Ralph Rhodes, and he spoke with great admiration for Irving Andrews. A natural lawyer, he enjoyed litigation but also practiced everything from estate planning to admiralty law. A man devoted to decency, fairness, and civility, he gave generously of his time and legal expertise, representing those less fortunate when facing difficult legal matters.He met Gloria Graf (who had come to Denver from Nebraska to work for United Airlines) at a party while he was in law school. They married in 1961 and settled in Denver.Later in life Jorge enjoyed sailing, crewing with a group of sailing friends on trips, including to Puget Sound, Tonga, and the Caribbean. He traveled widely and enjoyed trips with family throughout the US (especially national parks) and abroad. During a trip in 2019 to Sicily, he met his special friend, Louise, and traveled frequently to visit her in New Orleans, which was one of the cities he loved in his younger days. Jorge always loved returning to Costa Rica for vacations and seeing close friends and family. Closer to home, he was fond of his regular walks to the Denver Botanic Gardens and his lunch and golf dates with friends and colleagues. He was a season ticket holder for the Broncos and the Rockies for many years, enjoyed fishing and made good use of his 60+ year membership at the Denver Athletic Club.Jorge was a lifelong learner, a lover of music, and a voracious reader of anything from poetry, philosophy, to history to Supreme Court opinions. In later years he took up painting, studying diligently and painting in his home studio. He worked hard to master painting the bright gold aspen leaves he enjoyed viewing in the mountains each fall and even took a course on the finer points of painting water.Jorge is survived by his children Justin (Ruth Ann) and Lisa Thompson (Marty) and seven grandchildren. Gloria, his wife of 54 years, predeceased him in 2016. Throughout his life he enjoyed the camaraderie of friends, neighbors, classmates and family.A celebration of life is planned for later in the spring; please contact us at JorgeCastilloService@icloud.com for the details. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Sierra Club, the ACLU, or another organization devoted to making the world a better place.

Jorge E. Castillo

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