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Two Denver icons remembered Thursday

By Carol McKinley June 16, 2022 | updated 3 years ago

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Early mem crowd.jpeg

A who's who of Denver city leaders past and present attended Norm Early's memorial Thursday including mayors, city attorneys, district attorneys, and U.S. Attorneys. "Norm was my mentor, my inspiration, my friend," said former Denver Public Manager Al Lacabe.

Carol McKinley, Denver Gazette

Two Denver giants were memorialized in separate services Thursday. Denver’s first African American District Attorney, Norm Early, died May 5 at the age of 76, and Dusty Saunders, 90, longtime Rocky Mountain News journalist passed away May 29.

Early’s service was a who’s who of Denver city leaders from former DA’s Bill Ritter, Mitch Morrissey and current DA Beth McCann to Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and Colorado Springs Mayor and former Colorado U.S. Attorney John Suthers. Early was honored as a national champion for Black prosecutors and for victims. He was Denver DA from 1983-1992 and after he lost the mayoral race to Wellington Webb in 1991, was appointed to the Denver Metro Stadium District. Thursday, he was honored with resolutions from the Sam Carey Bar Association and National Black Prosecutors Association, both of which he co-founded. 

Saunders started his journalism career in the fall of 1953 as a copy boy at the Rocky Mountain News, where he worked for 56 years. He is said to have written more stories for the Rocky than any other reporter. After the Rocky folded in 2009, he wrote a weekly sports broadcast column for The Denver Post. He was honored by all four of his children, who spoke of his love for journalism and Denver. His wife of 67 years, Anita, sat in the front row. Saunders was a founder of the Television Critics Association. He is believed to have written more stories for The Rocky Mountain News than anyone in that paper’s long and storied history

The tributes for both men included their favorite music: Early’s service opened with Martha and the Vandellas’ Dancing in the Streets and, for Saunders ended with a live piano recital of a Gershwin medley.

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Carol McKinley

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