Lloyd Richard Wade passed away peacefully at Swedish Hospital on July 30, 2019, following a brief illness.
    Lloyd Wade, born Dec. 13, 1940, was raised in Wauneta, Nebraska. As a youngster, he worked on the family’s farm, was the captain of the basketball team and the quarterback of the football team. Following his graduation from high school, he moved to Lincoln where he attended the University of Nebraska and pledged the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. Much to his parent’s dismay, he took off a semester of school and moved to Colorado where he took a job framing houses. He learned two things from his short stint of bent nails and black and blue thumbs. First, he wanted to live in Colorado and, second, he didn’t want to be a carpenter. Following his graduation in 1962, Lloyd moved back to Colorado, enrolled in the University of Denver College of Law, and by 1964 had obtained a JD.
    Maybe it was by chance (or possibly the result of a being hit over the head with a sock full of pennies during a mugging) that Lloyd abandoned his dream of becoming an FBI agent and instead applied for an internship with King Resources. Either way, this decision kickstarted a life-long career in oil and gas. Lloyd went on to work for and form several oil and gas companies during his career. Always interested in helping others, he offered free legal advice to any employee who needed it. While working at Petro-Lewis, a young woman named Stephanie walked into his office asking for advice on a residential lease. Little did he know this exchange would be the first of many with his future wife, friend and partner during the next 38 years.
    In his early years, he was known to many as “Lloyd”, “L.R.”, “Wad” or “Waddy”. But it wasn’t until 1982 (and again in 1985) when he officially became “Dad”. He loved spending time with his boys, Brian and Eric, taking regular trips to the mountains, Hawaii and Lake McConaughy and was always excited to play catch, give a fishing lesson or shoot some hoops. He was eventually blessed with three grandchildren which were the source of some of his biggest smiles. His elated and excited reactions to them would eventually earn him yet another name, “Grandpa Holy Smokes!”
    Although he passed as a young man, he lived life to its fullest in his 78 years. He never hesitated to drop a one-liner or call a complete stranger “Dearie” as if they had known each other for years. He loved many things: Nebraska football, the Boston Red Sox, Maui, golf, sailing Hobie Cats at maximum velocity, politics, scouring various newspapers for good deals on real estate and any dog or cat he could get his hands on. Most of all, he loved his family and friends. He credited his career to leading him to his wife, kids and a host of good friends and credited his schooling for helping him find the brothers he never had. No matter if you knew him as Lloyd, Wad, Waddy, L.R., Dad or Grandpa Holy Smokes! you no doubt share in the loss.
    A celebration of his life followed by a reception will be held at 4:00 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 12 at the Wellshire Inn, 3333 S. Colorado Blvd., Denver, CO 80222.
    Although he didn’t specifically state it, we know his desire would be for any memorials to be given to the Ross Hecht Scholarship Fund–Sigma Phi Epsilon Foundation in Nebraska, P.O. Box 6246, Lincoln, NE 68516 or the Denver Dumb Friends League, 2080 S. Quebec St., Denver, CO 80231 or online at http://bit.ly/dflwade.  
    He is survived by his wife Stephanie Foote, son Eric Wade and wife Katherine, son Brian Wade and wife Sarah, three grandchildren and many beloved nieces, nephews and in-laws. He was preceded in death by his parents, Gerald and Ruth, stepfather Eugene Justice, sister Janice O’Laughlin and a small army of cherished cats and dogs.