The best advocates for an issue have lived it. That was true for Jim Isgar, who grew up on the family farm and ranch south of Durango where water was either nonexistent or at best scarce. That meant that Isgar, when helping steer the Animas-La Plata Project to completion or addressing the dozens of statewide water issues when he was in the state Senate, knew what the proper results should be.
At the same time, Isgar, whose memorial service was Sunday, knew the issues of urban dwellers in Colorado. A part of a family that valued the importance of supporting and leading community initiatives, Isgar touched a broad swath of the community.
Isgar represented Fort Lewis College well as a member of the State Board of Agriculture, which oversaw Colorado State University, the University of Southern Colorado (Pueblo) and Fort Lewis College before Fort Lewis became independent. And while he advocated for the college in Durango, he also worked to make CSU an even stronger research university.
Isgar was bright, but his great gift was his ability to explain relatively complex issues in simple terms. Often, that made the solutions easier to grasp. Whether it was how to encourage farmers to more quickly embrace the Internet – which was an effort while he held a state department of agriculture position – or the legal pluses and minuses of catching rainwater and roof snowmelt in a barrel, Isgar could use simple but all-encompassing terms. He was an excellent teacher, one who did not need a classroom.
In fact, in recent years while Isgar had to husband his strength and avoid crowded meeting rooms while nursing the cancer that was then in remission, the summer farmers market was the best place to catch him with a question about politics, water or agriculture. While juggling vegetables as he handed them to customers, he always had an answer.
Family stories say that Isgar practiced his longer upcoming talks while at the wheel of a tractor, working his way back and forth across a field.
Isgar grew up in family that believed strongly in the Democratic Party. His parents Art and Anne Isgar’s home on La Posta Road was for many years the location for the party’s annual picnic. The family practiced hard work – hard work done wisely – because that was what successful rural life required. But they also knew the importance of a safety net for those who were struggling and who needed a hand up, the kind of shared safety net that is a part of Democratic Party’s principles.
Sunday’s memorial service was packed, as it should have been. And former Congressman John Salazar, from the San Luis Valley, delivered an eulogy that included Isgar’s frequent sense of humor.
Colorado – not just Southwest Colorado – has lost an individual who contributed much to better everyone’s life.