John Anthony Babish

Named for his grandfathers and known by John to his co-workers and Tony to his family and close friends, Tony was born October 16, 1953 to RoseMaria (Miller) and Joseph Frank Babish two months premature, weighing 4 lbs, 6 oz. Tony remained in the hospital for an extra month to allow his lungs to develop normally and came home November 16, 1953. A healthy, mischievous and energetic child, he kept his parents quite busy as he was growing up. He was joined by his 'sibling partners in crime' sister Laura, brother Joseph, and baby sister Teresa. He was fiercely protective of his brother and sisters, especially his baby sister, Teresa, often hiding her in various areas of the house if he thought she was going to get into trouble. Tony was educated at Holy Rosary Parochial School as well as in the Adams County District 50 School district. Despite his rough edges, Tony was not only responsible and dependable to his parents and siblings, but creative and talented artistically. He began drawing at a very young age and he continued to grow artistically throughout his life. The rooms of family and friends often contain paintings done by Tony using a very special technique he learned which utilized a form of 'finger painting'. The paintings were from favorite places that Tony had visited at some point in his life, many of them of seascapes or birds of prey. Tony joined the Navy on January 4, 1972 and served aboard the U.S.S. Stein, a fast frigate, completing two tours to the areas of Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia during his time in the service. He was a second class Machinist's Mate during his tour of duty and was honorably discharged on December 23, 1975 and subsequently served in the Naval Reserves until November 23, 1977. Tony was a very patriotic man and very proud of his naval service to his country as well as his fellow service men and women. He had recently joined the Evans Colorado V.F.W. In July of 1979, Tony joined the Denver Sheriff's Department where he remained employed until the time of his death on June 20, 2007. Although gruff and tough on the outside, he mentored many of the officers that he worked with and took great pride in teaching them the correct way to perform the duties of their job and process court paperwork. In turn, they respected him and many close friendships grew. It didn't take long for his co-workers and friends to discover that inside beat the heart of a gentle, loving and caring man and his sense of humor was apparent to all who became close to him. On April 8, 1989 he married Cyndi Lesser in a large old-fashioned German wedding, complete with polka music and good German food. Tony and Cyndi shared many good times, frequently at various polka festivals where Cyndi was playing with her father's band or someone else's band. Their favorite vacations were their trips to Disneyland and the three cruises that they took, the last one a 15-day roundtrip cruise from Los Angeles to Hawaii and around the Hawaiian Islands. Although ported several times in Pearl Harbor on the U.S.S. Stein during his tour of duty with the Navy, Tony usually always had duty and was unable to visit the local sites. Especially moving for him during the trip to Hawaii was being able to visit Pearl Harbor and the Arizona Memorial. Although diagnosed with metastatic lung case in June of 2006, Tony never stopped working at the Sheriff's Department or working on his favorite projects outside of work '"" building decks, patio covers, stairways, remodeling basements and bathrooms, etc. He loved designing decks and seeing projects to fruition. One of the most special projects that he worked on was a grandmother clock for Adolph and Cecilia Lesser's 50th wedding anniversary. Many of his family, friends and neighbors only have to look around their homes to see the projects that Tony did for them. Currently undergoing chemotherapy as part of his cancer treatment slowed him down a bit, but didn't keep him from doing the things he loved to do. His philosophy was that, 'if I quit doing my work and my projects, the cancer wins!' Tony is survived by his wife Cyndi, a grown daughter Daneen from his first marriage, his mother RoseMaria (Emmett) Horst, his siblings, Laura (Bill) Capek, Joseph (Karen) Babish, Teresa (Rich) Wangsness, many nieces and nephews, his step-mother Rose (Verga) Babish, two stepsisters Leilani Hayhurst and Lucille Verga, his father-in-law Adolph Lesser, and his furry four-legged companions Koala and Klaus. He was preceded in death by his grandparents, his father Joseph, many aunts and uncles, and his mother-in-law Cecilia Lesser. Tony was a gift to his family, friends, and many of his co-workers. Although his time with us was far too short, we love him and miss him and will cherish forever the prints he has left on our hearts and souls and will miss him dearly.