County judge dies suddenly in court Monday; Frank Henderson called recess before collapsing in chambers

Whats next

Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced following County Judge Frank Henderson's sudden death on Monday afternoon.

Other judges in the 19th Judicial District may take on part of his case load. One other county judge, Julie Hoskins, was recently appointed as a new district judge, to take effect Aug. 1, and another judge, Lynn Karowsky, is retiring in October due to his deteriorating eyesight. Hoskins, Karowsky and Judge Charles Unfug will likely take over the cases from Henderson's courtroom.

For people who knew Frank Henderson, Weld County's courthouse will never look quite the same now.

The gray marble building will be without Henderson's friendly smile, his sharp legal mind and the sweet smell of the wooden pipe he smoked on walks around the courthouse grounds.

Henderson, 50, died suddenly Monday afternoon at North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley.

He called a recess from Monday's busy county court docket and collapsed in his chambers an instant later, apparently from a heart attack. He was rushed to the hospital and was conscious in the ambulance, according to several of his friends. He died moments later.

"It was really sudden," said Todd Taylor, Henderson's former legal partner and longtime friend. "We got the call that something was happening, the paramedics had been called, and we were monitoring the situation ... we are all in just absolute shock."

The news spread quickly through Weld's legal community. Police and prosecutors called each other to mourn. Defense attorneys and other coworkers of Henderson's rushed to the hospital.

Even as the shock of his death was sinking in, Henderson's colleagues and friends were happy to share stories of the avid fly-fisherman and devoted father with a keen eye for justice.

"He had a real sense of justice. It was just natural of Frank. He knew injustice when he saw it, and he was going to do something about it," Taylor said.

Henderson received his law degree from Franklin Pierce Law Center in New Hampshire in 1986, after graduating from the University of New Hampshire with a philosophy degree in 1981. Prior to, and during, law school, he worked as a licensed private investigator, according to the Colorado Judicial Branch.

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County judge dies suddenly in court Monday; Frank Henderson called recess before collapsing in chambers

Rebecca Boyle