Thomas Barton Obituary

Barton
Thomas "Tom" Barton
February 8, 1945
September 13, 2024

Tom was born in Omaha, Nebraska on February 8, 1945. At the age of six months his family moved to Rock Island, Illinois where he grew up and attended high school. He graduated from the University of Colorado in Boulder in 1967. After two years in the U.S. Army, Tom graduated with his Juris Doctor from the University of Denver Law School. In 1972, he moved to Colorado Springs and went to work for Bob Russell in the El Paso County District Attorney's office prior to entering private practice.
Tom was a lawyer's lawyer. As a prosecutor he gained trial skills and experience; he sharpened those skills as a criminal defense attorney and for the rest of his career put them to their best use by defending grateful clients in civil lawsuits. He was fair, honest, firmly bound by his word and expected the same in return. As well, his humor and intuition helped him help his clients navigate past unforeseen sticking points that come up in any lawsuit. For all he gave to the profession and all he modeled for the advocates in it, he is already missed.
In 1995, Tom retired from law and opened a copying business which he ran successfully until 2014, when he retired for good.
Tom is survived by two sons, Andy (Vanessa) and Ben (Dana), grandchildren Wyatt, Owen, Laurel, Quinn, Phebe, his brother Bob (Shirley), his ex-wife Susie Stetson, the mother of his boys, ex-wife Martha Barton and partner Flori Lambart.
Family was the most important thing to Tom. He cooked Sunday night dinners for them for many years. He attended grand kids sporting and school events and he spent summers fishing in Ontario with his boys, brother and best friend. He was generally happiest when with family but also enjoyed gardening, fishing, boating, tinkering, reading and his many black labs.
Funeral services will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.