By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice
Rod Bockenfeld, who served Colorado’s House District 56 for three terms, has died, Sen. Rod Pelton announced Thursday to the Colorado Senate.
“He was my representative for two years,” Pelton said. “We sat next to each other in the House chamber, and we became really close. He was a great man.”
Bockenfeld moved to Colorado in 1978 and began a career as a financial crimes investigator. He earned a bachelor’s in law enforcement administration and a graduate degree in banking.
In 2004, Bockenfeld was elected as an Arapahoe County commissioner, a position in which he served for 12 years. In 2018, he was elected to serve in the Colorado House and was sworn into office in 2019. He represented Adams, Arapahoe, Cheyenne, El Paso, Elbert, Kit Carson and Lincoln counties.
Bockenfeld did not seek re-election in 2024, as he battled a cancerous brain tumor.
“Now, he’s done suffering,” Pelton said.
The Senate paused for a moment of silence for Bockenfeld and rang the Senate chimes in his honor.