May 16, 1932 - July 06, 2021
John Thomas Amey, 89, born in Miami Arizona, passed peacefully away on July 6, 2021 in Colorado.
He was born in a small mining town in Miami Arizona to Walter and Laura (Ransburger) Amey in 1932, a pioneer family who settled in the territory before Arizona achieved statehood, where as a young boy on the hillsides he caught the prospectors' stray mules. After high school, he enlisted in the Navy and served in the Korean War as a radio operator aboard the USS Telfar, a troop transporter in the Pacific region. In addition, he was a courier taken into Korean battle zones. His strength of character was revealed in many different experiences during that period.
After the war, and an honorable discharge, he worked in the deepest continual copper mine shaft in the US (in Superior Arizona) which provided him funds to enroll at Arizona State University. There, he was junior class president, assistant head resident in a football dormitory and met the love of his life, Carol (Kriz) Amey. After marriage, they moved to Tucson Arizona where he attended law school and graduated in 1959.
He began working as a law-clerk to Justice M.T. Phelps of the Arizona Supreme Court. From there he served as the youngest assistant Attorney General for the State and Chief Council for the Department of Transportation (the largest agency of state government). During his career, he consistently participated in major top-level administrative and policy making decisions as well as drafting legislation and advising legislators as well as the Governor's office on relevant issues. He was admitted to the US Supreme Court for a case defending the State's water rights. He was also honored when requested to write a paper for the National Academy of Sciences around his area of expertise. John was instrumental in supporting public employees and drafted the Merit System legislation for the purpose of attracting and retaining high caliber employees. He was proud to be a public servant and preferred being anonymous, in fact, many of the above career highlights were unknown even to his family until now.
John is survived by his beloved family; wife, Carol Ellen (Kriz) Amey, his son John Thomas Amey and his wife Willow (Burmania) Amey, daughter Catherine Ellen (Amey) Marulli and her husband Antonio Marulli, granddaughters Alyssa Ellen Amey and Ashley Anne Amey, including cousins and countless friends around the world.
John had a deep spiritual core, giving selflessly to serve a higher purpose. His poetry below speaks of his large and gentle spirit.
In Attunement
In quietness I come before you
Still, tall, serene.
The fire of love is burning
And I stand unashamed knowing
The purity of His great love.
Come close.
Closer
One.
Yielded, life's flow
Blesses His whole holy world.
It is so.
-JTA
The immediate family will celebrate John's life at a later time, no memorial service will be held. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory can be made to the Larimer Humane Society or a charity of your choice.
