The Cortez community will mourn the loss of one of its most dedicated public servants on Saturday.

David Delo Herrick, a longtime Cortez resident who served on the Cortez City Council and the board of the Dolores Water Conservancy District, died on Sunday at Southwest Memorial Hospital. He was 69.

A former veterinarian, Cortez City Council member, and member of the Dolores Water Conservancy Board, Herrick had lived in Cortez for 42 years.

He was a strong advocate of the Dolores Project, which involved building McPhee Reservoir, during his 21-year tenure on the DWCD board.

"He worked tirelessly to get the project started," explained DWCD Manager John Porter. "Dave was probably the board member that was most aware of environmental issues back at that point in time — fish habitat and things like that."

Don Schwindt, who served on the DWCD board with Herrick, said he was "broad-minded" and was good at communicating the environmental benefits of the project.

"Dave was a real leader," said Schwindt.

Herrick served two terms on the Cortez City Council in the 1960s and ’70s.

Bill Smart, a council member during Herrick’s tenure, said he "can’t say enough about Dave."

"He was a very good community-minded person. He was very thoughtful and had good suggestions," said Smart.

Jim Herrick, Dave’s son and a current city-council member, said his father loved the outdoors and exploring the canyon country.

"He just loved the area," Jim Herrick said. "He just thought that this was the neatest place in the world to live, because the recreational opportunities were endless in his mind."

Once an avid downhill skier and all-around athlete, Herrick served as president of the Ski-Hi Ski Club that owned and operated the Stoner Ski Area. He participated in the Ride the Rockies bicycle ride.

However, several years ago, while riding his bike on Highway 145, Herrick was hit by a car and left a quadriplegic. Although Herrick’s subsequent paralysis kept him from pursuing the outdoor activities he enjoyed, his love for life and dedication to his family remained a driving force in his life.

"Even for his limited abilities, he did amazing things," his son said. "He never complained once. Not on one instance did he ever say, ‘Oh, poor me.’ For Dave Herrick, it was just another thing."

Herrick was born in Denver on July 19, 1931, to David Bryan and Dorothy Margaret (Delo) Herrick. At the age of 22, he married Patricia Hardy in Fort Collins. Herrick then served in the U.S. Army Vet Corps, before moving to Cortez in 1959, where he opened the Cortez Animal Clinic.

Herrick started serving on various community boards as a member of the Re-1 school reorganization committee in the early 1960’s.

Herrick also chaired the Montezuma County Demo-crats, and served as president of the Colorado Veterinarian Medical Association in 1979 and 1980.

Herrick is survived by his wife of 47 years, Pat Herrick, of Cortez; his children, Gail Ann Herrick of San Francisco; James Hardy and wife Laura of Cortez, and Jeffrey Bryan and wife Eumelia Herrick of Henderson, Nev.

He is also survived by grandchildren Alek David Herrick, Chad James Herrick, Dante Hardy Herrick, and Gabriela Sabay Herrick; sister Dorothy Jean Terry of Umpqua, Ore.; and his nieces and nephews, David Terry, John Terry, Kevin Comiskey, and Kristen Terry. He was preceded in death by his parents, David and Dorothy Herrick.