Obituary of Eve Irene Canfield

Eve Irene Canfield, 68, a family attorney with a passion for lifting up those in need, passed away peacefully on March 22, 2023 after a battle with metastatic melanoma. Eve was an outdoorswoman, runner, reader, and dog lover. She was surrounded in her passing by her wide circle of family, friends, neighbors, and her wife, Jabe Hickey.

 

Eve was born on March 31, 1954 to Jerrid Lee Canfield and Betty Lou Canfield (Beasa) in Wausau, WI. Eve graduated from Wausau East High School in 1972 and attended the University of Wisconsin for a year before moving to Colorado. She worked as an office manager for McStain for 10 years, and then worked for SCC (now Intrado) for 15 years, where she met her wife, Jabe Hickey. Jabe and Eve married in Canada in 2004 after same-sex marriage was legalized, had a Colorado civil union ceremony in 2009, and married again in Longmont in 2014 after Colorado updated its marriage laws.  They had 27 wonderful years together.

 

Eve went back to school at the University of Colorado at age 43, receiving a BA as valedictorian in Humanities in 1999 and a JD in 2002.  After Law School she clerked for Boulder District Court Judge Carol Glowinsky before going to work as an attorney for Lyons Gaddis Law. She worked for Lyons Gaddis for 17 years, retiring in 2020 when she was diagnosed with melanoma.

 

Eve did pro bono legal work for people who needed family law assistance.  She served as board President or Chair for several community organizations including Safe Shelter of St Vrain Valley, the Longmont Housing and Human Services Advisory Board,  and the county board for compensating victims of crime. She also volunteered to teach adults how to read and as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for children.

 

Despite having a lifetime of autoimmune diseases, she was a runner who often won her age group, a strong hiker and walker, and even though she was not keen on biking, she rode her bike across several states with her wife.  She knew her friends' tastes in books and recommended books they might like. She kept a canister of dog treats on the porch for all the neighborhood dogs who walked by. 

 

Eve was predeceased by her dogs Daisy, Zena, and Lily and her cat Lucy. She is survived by her wife Jabe Hickey, mother Betty Baumgardt, brothers Geoffrey (Katherine), Tim (Helen), Scott (Ruth), and sister Lisa McConnell (Darrell),  as well as nieces and nephews. Eve’s Celebration of Life  will be held at Shupe Farm on May 12 at 3PM. 

 

Contributions in memory of Eve can be made to Safe Shelter of St Vrain Valley.

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