AURORA | Services for longtime Aurora lawmaker Frank Weddig are slated for Thursday and Friday. Weddig died Oct. 26, according to a family spokeswoman. He was 67.
Nancy Jackson, an Arapahoe County Commissioner with Weddig, said Weddig died Friday surrounded by family. Earlier this year Weddig had been diagnosed with a brain tumor.
After having a career of public service in Aurora and Colorado that spanned more than three decades, Weddig, an electrician retired from government service in January.
Weddig last represented the county’s District 5. He had served as Arapahoe County Commissioner since January 2005. Prior to his Arapahoe County post, he was an Aurora City Council member and served in both the state House and the state Senate as a Democrat.
Weddig moved to Aurora in 1971 and joined the city council in 1981.
Jackson said Weddig was an incredible mentor for her when she joined the commission, her first time in elected office.
“Because he liked everybody, he was really good at introducing me to not just people, but ideas and ways of thinking about things in a way I never thought of before,” she said.
Jackson said Weddig always saw more work to be done, that’s why when he was term-limited in the state Senate, he decided to pursue a seat in the House. After that, he saw work to be done at the county level.
Frank was the kind of guy who rolled up his sleeves and went to work,” she said.
During his term as County Commissioner, Weddig helped shepherd the opening of the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds and Events Center and the return of the Arapahoe County Fair in 2006. He helped oversee the completion of a $13.8 million project that addressed the space needs for the courts, celebrated the 2008 grand opening of the Eastern Service Center in Byers, and approved a variety of projects that provided citizens with improved parks and trails, as well as protected 18,000 acres of open space throughout Arapahoe County, according to county officials.
Debbie Stafford, who served with Weddig in the state Legislature, said he worked to make his community a better place.
“Frank was genuine, he’s changed this community one voice at a time, one person at a time, and with a level head,” she said.
Stafford was a Republican for most of her time in the Legislature, but she said Weddig was always willing to work across the aisle.
“I always felt like Frank was a friend even though we weren’t on the same side of the aisle, he always treated me with dignity,” she said.
John Buckley, chairman of the Arapahoe County Democratic Party, said people like Weddig who dedicate years to public service are a rarity.
“Frank was one of a kind,” he said. “His level of dedication to public service surpassed anything I have ever seen. I hope we have other people that can step up and fill that void that he left, but he was certainly a tough act to follow.”
Buckley said that in the more than six years he had known Weddig, the longtime lawmaker showed an ability to work of people from across the political spectrum.
“He came from a day in politics where we weren’t as partisan as we have been lately, and he seemed to have transcended that,” he said.
As a city councilman and state lawmaker, he focused on how legislation would affect average families. He worked extensively on agreements with Denver to build DIA.
Weddig served in the US Air Force. He was born in Wisconsin and survived by his wife, Pat, three daughters, Francis, Pam and Trice, and several grandchildren.
A visitation was scheduled for 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 1 at Newcomer Mortuary’s East Metro Chapel, 190 Potomac St. A memorial service was scheduled for 10 a.m. Nov. 2 at St. Pius X Catholic Church, 13670 E. 13th Place.