Beloved Fort Collins man, 'ambassador of friendship' dies

He was a local celebrity — the "angel of Old Town" with a generous spirit and devotion to his community.

And that's how he'll be remembered.

Barney Apodaca, a beloved Fort Collins resident, died Monday morning after catching pneumonia. He was 73.

"He was really a community gem," said Amanda Miller, who struck up a friendship with Apodaca while she was working at the Downtown Business Association. Apodaca would come in for lunch and keep DBA staff company during downtown events, she said.

"He supported so many people just through his friendship. He was really our local celebrity for years. Everybody knew and loved the man," Miller added.

Apodaca, who was born in Walsenburg with developmental disabilities, came to Fort Collins from the special education unit of Pueblo hospital in the early 1970s. Here, he became part of Foothills Gateway, a local nonprofit that supports people with disabilities and their families.

After living in group homes, Apodaca got his own apartment in Old Town, where he lived independently until around 2011, working various jobs at the city's parks department, Aggie Theatre and as a delivery man for Fort Collins' Triangle Review.

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His health started declining in recent years, however, and he was moved to an assisted living community, said Kate Kosakowski, Apodaca's legal guardian.

Kosakowski said she met Apodaca when she was a child and her father was his medical proxy.

"He was a fixture in our family," she said.

After becoming his legal guardian, Kosakowski said Apodaca moved in with Brecken Fenwick and her family — a Fort Collins host family.

Made up of Brecken, her husband Levi and their two daughters — ages 5 and 2 — Fenwick said Apodaca quickly became part of the family. Together, they would go to bingo nights in Red Feather Lakes, concerts downtown and even went on a vacation to the Gulf Coast.

"We went from the Rocky Mountains to the shining sea with Barney," Fenwick said, remembering the man with the wonderful spirit and giving nature who always loved to have a $20 bill in his hand.

"We learned how to give through Barney," Fenwick added. "Even with my girls, he would have a stuffed animal on the counter for them to make their day."

Before Apodaca was confined to a wheelchair, he was often seen around town collecting donations for various causes and charities. He was referred to in a newspaper article as an "ambassador of friendship" for the city.

In 2003, he raised $2,300 for a gym at the Fort Collins Youth Activity Center, which will be replaced by the Foothills Activity Center this November, according to the city of Fort Collins website.

One year earlier, the downtown post office was named after him because of his work in the community, but his name was never put on the building per Apodaca's wishes.

Apodaca was admitted into hospice care on Thursday and spent the weekend surrounded by his siblings who we was reunited with in 2005, Kosakowski said. Apodaca had been given up by his parents, finding out 62 years later that he had seven siblings.

Kosakowski said Apodaca's funeral is being planned, but will probably take place at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Old Town. A community celebration, where people can share memories of him, will take place this weekend in Library Park. An exact date and time are pending.

Miller said a memorial fund has also been set up in Apodaca's name at every First Bank location in Colorado. Donations to the fund will go toward building something in his memory in Old Town.

"Everybody knew him and everybody was touched by him, and while he hasn't been active in the past two years," Miller said, "he holds a special place in the hearts of a lot of people."