James C. Bull

On Friday, February 26, 2021, James C. Bull, Colorado Trial Lawyer, husband, father and grandfather transitioned to the Otherworld in his home in Arroyo Seco, New Mexico at the age of 77 years young.  Jim was born in Denver, Colorado.  He spent his early years with his parents and grandmother in Honolulu, Hawai’i where they had lived since immigrating from England in the 1920’s. As Jim wrote in his family memoirs, “Jim’s first Englewood residence was a house built by grandfather, Clifford Benjamin Noxon and Grandmother, Maybel Noxon, (natives of Colorado)... Jim had a pet duck, name forgotten.”

He graduated from Englewood High School in 1961.  Jim applied to Stanford as a lark but was turned down three times for undergraduate, law, and business. Jim graduated from the University of Colorado with an undergraduate political science degree in January 1965 when he ran out of money and had enough credit hours to get the degree.  He graduated from the University of Colorado School of Law with his Juris Doctorate in 1968.  Jim was sworn in to the  Colorado Bar at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Before the draft, Jim applied to Colombia and Harvard business schools and was accepted. However, getting an ownership position with the Gerald Quiat law firm seemed a better choice.  Thus, Jim became a partner of the law firm, Quiat & Quiat, P.C., right out of law school.   Ultimately, this firm transitioned through the years and its last permutation was Bucholz and Bull, P.C., well known for specializing in Civil Trial Law. He was admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973. He never officially retired from law,  listing his last official employment as a Pro Bono Consultant at Bull & Davies, PC, his daughter, Catharine’s, and son in law, Brett’s, law firm. He had several published legal decisions including: Reed Mill & Lumber Co., Inc. v. Jensen, 165 P.3d 733 (Colo), Galieti v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. 840 F. Supp. 104 (D. Colo.1993), Bell Petroleum Co. v. Cross V. Cattle Co., 492 P.2d 80 (Colo. App. 1971).

Jim married the love of his life of 50 years, Constance J. Bull, in September 1969 in the Englewood Methodist Church, where Jim’s parents were parishioners for many years. Together, they had three children: Victoria Elizabeth, Catharine Anne and Diana Carene.

As a result of his love for art, history and communities, Jim was prolific in his affiliations with organizations he believed in. Jim was the past President of Historic Frankstown, Inc., Historic Denver, Inc., the Denver Firefighters’ Museum, Inc., the Colorado Trial Lawyers’ Association, and the Noxon Family Association. The one presidency he strove for,  but never acquired, was the Los Altos Homeowner’s Association.  He was also a member of the Colorado Bar Association, the Colorado Historical Society, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Pikes Peak Grange, Inc.,  #163, Rocky Mountain Oceanographer’s Society, and the Rocky Mountains Classics Chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society.  He was also actively supporting The Kit Carson Historic Foundation, The Millicent Rogers Museum, the Taos Land Trust, and the Taos Art Association, as well as many local artists.

Jim was the author of several “would-be prize-winning histories” donating all proceeds to local projects in Franktown, Colorado and Arroyo Seco, New Mexico: “A Short History of Frankstown, Colorado, A Douglas County Cross Roads” (1994) and “Out of Time, Arroyo Seco: An Historic look at a 250 year old northern New Mexico village” (1998).  His final book, “Epiphaneia,'' published in 2007, was, in his own words, the “crescendo to his dubious career as a trial lawyer in Colorado.” He was published most recently in Trial Talk, the publication for the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association: “Early Memories of CTLA and a 50 year Trial Practice” (2020).

Without a doubt, Jim, by all accounts was a trial attorney considered by some to be “the most talented trial lawyer that has ever appeared in the courtroom.”  Not a man to back down from a good fight, Jim loved to talk about his many trials through the years at the dining room table with his daughters.  Judges, colleagues, and friends recognized his own daughters in later years, just as a result of the reputation he earned.

He has resided permanently in Arroyo Seco since 2016, but has owned the family home since 1994. The Taos Valley has been important to our family since the 1950s. Jim and Connie celebrated their first anniversary here. Prior to moving to Arroyo Seco, Connie and Jim resided in Frisco, Colorado and Franktown, Colorado. He is survived by his wife, Connie, his three children, Victoria (Lindsay), Catharine (Brett), and Diana (Ben); his four grandchildren Joaquin (7), Lydia (5), Mayla (4) and Georgia James (2); his nephew, Matt (Julie) and nieces Melissa (Erick) and Julia (Holden) and their children, Allison, Lindsay, Emma Mae, Megan Elizabeth, Mathias James, Harris, Hayden, and Haley.   He is preceded in death by his parents, Kenneth and Irene (Noxon) Bull and his two sisters, Carol and Claudia.

Jim was an avid traveler, scuba diver, hot-tubber,  skier, boater, horseman, tennis player, gardener, snow shoveler, bird watcher, cow herder, dog snuggler, fisherman, reader, art collector, mountain aficionado, Bronco fan, and lover of a good footnote. Life, according to Jim, was a daring adventure or nothing at all. To a faithful friend and untiring protector, we say Mahalo Nui Loa, Aloha.  May the stars be at your elbow and foot, sinking through the sea may you rise again.

The family of James C. Bull has entrusted the care of their loved one to DeVargas Funeral Home of Taos.  866-657-4019 www.devargastaos.com