Christine Jorgensen

OBITUARY

Chris Jorgensen lived eighty-three years engaged in service and creative endeavors. She was an enthusiastic traveler, a dedicated bridge player, a writer, a painter, a symphony goer, a golfer, a reader, and a lover of color. Born in Champagne, Illinois to David and Ruth Turnbull, she grew up in Monmouth, Illinois where she completed high school. In the social expansion of the 1960s, Christine left her hometown for Carleton College in Northfield Minnesota, majoring in English. She received her Bachelor of the Arts in English from Roosevelt University in Chicago. She married her first husband Craig Murdock, and with their son Gaunt, moved to London where her daughter Vanessa was born. Returning to the United States they settled in Denver’s Park Hill neighborhood. She earned her Master of Social Work from the University of Denver where she met her husband Jim Jorgensen, who she loved for half a century. Her belief in the principle of fairness, and her commitment to public service led her to a long career in social work. She was a case worker in the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services, where she worked with families in Altgeld Gardens, notable as the birthplace of the Environmental Justice movement. She worked in adult social services and child protection at Denver Social Services, followed by a nearly 20-year career at Colorado Children’s Hospital. In the decade following her retirement from Children’s Hospital, she spent several semesters with her husband Jim teaching social work and early childhood development at the People’s Youth College for Politics in Beijing. As a second career, she joined Rocky Mountain Mystery Writers of America, and over the next 15 years published seven mystery novels. She took up oil painting, taking classes at the Art Students League of Denver. Her interest in botany is reflected in her work, which has shown in the Art Students League Summer Art Market and is currently showing in the Colorado Symphony Guild Shop in the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Chris was a creative and adventurous friend. She had a tremendous empathy for people who are struggling, and a deep understanding of children, as reflected both in her work with children and families, and in her writing. She was a natural diplomat. She was independent and kind. She assumed others, children and adults alike, to be reasonable, intelligent and competent. She possessed a can-do attitude and practical talent, learning home and auto repair as the need arose. She applied herself with intensity to whatever project was at hand. Chris is survived by her loving husband of 48 years, James Jorgensen, her children Gaunt (Emma) Murdock and Vanessa Murdock (Michael Courage), her stepchildren John Jorgensen (Pam Williams) and Catherine Jorgensen, her grandchildren Paulot Gaudin, Naya Murdock, Eamon Murdock, Hannah Jorgensen, Dana Jorgensen, AJ Courage and Chloe Courage, and her siblings Nancy (John) Walters and John (Denise) Turnbull. Please join us in a celebration of Christine’s life Friday, November 22, 2024, at 2 pm at Horan & McConaty, 1091 S. Colorado Blvd.

Who needs college football when there’s a Nerf hoop?

While a solid chunk of college athletic departments chase the almighty football dollar, the wild success at the University of Denver can be traced to… games of H-O-R-S-E in a fourth-floor office hallway at the Ritchie Center?

DU’s hockey, lacrosse and men’s soccer coaches share an L-shaped office space — and a Nerf basket that serves as the great equalizer if any egos grow too large for the workplace.

“I can’t dunk,” soccer coach Jamie Franks told me prior to DU’s 2-1 loss to Kansas City in the Summit League championship match Saturday at University of Denver Soccer Stadium.

“But it does get pretty competitive up there. Ask the lacrosse guys. They think they always win.”

See, the Denver athletics department isn’t perfect.

On the fourth floor of the Ritchie Center, it only seems that way. Check out this lineup of winning among three coaches who share a hallway: Franks, whose soccer Pios reached No. 1 in the country in September; Matt Brown, whose lacrosse Pios reached No. 1 in the country in the spring; David Carle, whose hockey Pios are the reigning NCAA champs and hold the No. 1 ranking now.

There’s no football at DU. But is there a more successful hallway in all of Division I sports?

“It’s pretty fun,” said Franks, whose soccer club won the Summit League regular-season title and should be a shoo-in for the NCAA Tournament bracket released Monday. “We’ll get a game of ‘Around the Horn’ when all the coaches are around. It’s just a different community here.”

And talk about a leap of faith (and fantastic evaluation) from the DU administrators who hired three 20-somethings and allowed them to grow their programs into national names.

When DU hired Carle he was 28, the youngest head coach in Division I men’s hockey. When DU hired Franks he was 28, the youngest head coach in Division I men’s soccer. Brown was 26 when he joined Bill Tierney’s staff as a lacrosse assistant. Their programs are all grown up.

“I think it’s crazy at this time in college athletics when everything is more revenue-based, we’re trying to protect the kids and keep it pure and focus on holistic development,” Franks said.

Between the hockey, lacrosse and soccer programs, secrets are few and far between.

The three coaching staffs from different sports share all kinds of information to help out their office mates. Got a question on travel? Shout it down the hall. Sports psychology? Knock a couple doors down. Parent education? Your office neighbor’s probably been through it.

They even share new techniques on breathing, which regulates athletes after intense workouts.

“When I have a bad game or think I have a bad game, breathing, it helps you remember it’s not that bad,” said Ian Smith, a soccer defender and Highlands Ranch graduate. “It keeps you level-headed and allows you to reflect more clearly.”

DU hockey won its record 10th national championship in April. DU lacrosse is coming off a trip to the Final Four. DU soccer has the belief it can make a run at its first national title.

“I think most people at this school, if you’re not finding success, it’s a disappointment. It’s kind of expected,” said Ben Smith, a soccer midfielder who graduated from Arapahoe High.

The three neighboring programs share a philosophy: If the guys down the hall are hanging banners, why not mine their strategies?

“We all share all of our practices. For us, we can learn from each other. All these coaches have been successful in their respective sports. How do we bring their best practices into ours?” Franks said. “And the head coaches are so close because of who we are as people. We all believe in the same thing, the best way to guide our student-athletes in the right direction.”

Saturday’s loss to Kansas City had the Pios heated. In a 1-1 game after a lengthy video review, DU’s Ian Smith was hit with a red card, leaving the Pioneers down a man for the final 17 minutes of the game.

“To be honest, it was a shock. When you watch (the replay) again it’s still a shock,” Franks said after.

Kansas City (12-4-3) took advantage when Elie Kisoka drilled the game-winning goal off a corner kick with 13 seconds left, awarding the Roos the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. 

“The red card, you can watch it 100 times over, and I just don’t see the intent that’s involved,” Franks said.

At No. 3 in the Ratings Percentage Index, Denver (12-3-4) should be in fine shape for an at-large bid when the NCAA Tournament field is unveiled at 11 a.m. Monday. Then it’s up to the soccer Pios to join their office mates as national champs. Hockey has 10, lacrosse one.

“This (senior) class came in and said, ‘I’m here to win a national championship,’” Franks said. “We’ve had success in the past. But I don’t know if we’ve ever had a real belief we could win a national championship. We have that.”

In a down year for the middle of the AFC, the Denver Broncos sit firmly in the No. 7 playoff seed with complete control of their destiny. With games remaining against the squad’s most likely combatants for the final AFC playoff seeds against the Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Chargers, and Cincinnati Bengals, Denver will need to keep stacking victories while also avoiding key losses that could result in unfortunate tiebreakers come the end of the season.

Sitting at 5-5, are the Broncos contenders or pretenders when it comes to the AFC Playoff Picture? According to ESPN’s models, the Broncos have a next to zero chance of winning the division, now five games behind the Kansas City Chiefs at 0.1%.

However, the Broncos do have a strong opportunity to make the playoffs as ESPN has them at a 34.4% chance. A victory on the road at Kansas City certainly would have been nice to build a bit of a buffer, but Denver is very much in the thick of things.

ESPN’s Seth Walder believes the Broncos are firm contenders for the final Wildcard spot in the AFC. Praising the defense and an improving offense, the Broncos are a surprising squad compared to preseason expectations at this point in the season. Juxtaposed with the oddsmakers setting a 5.5-win over/under for the season, this team is ahead of schedule.

“An elite defense led by defensive end Zach Allen and cornerback Pat Surtain II — along with improving play from rookie quarterback Bo Nix — has the Broncos in surprising contention. Granted, their past four wins came against teams with three wins or fewer, and a defense-first approach is less reliable, so the odds are against them. But the Broncos have legitimate playoff hopes right now, which is already an upset,” Walder wrote.

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It is surprising to hear Walder state that a defense-first approach is less reliable given the historical anecdote of “defense wins championships.” An offense is obviously more stable year-to-year, given the unit’s linkage to quarterback play, but over a singular season, it might be worth digging further into what has more volatility in offense versus defense.

What Walder did not mention is that while Denver is a defensive first team, its offensive line is playing like one of the best units in football. Defense plus good offensive line play? That’s a winning formula at any level of football.

ESPN‘s long-time beat reporter Jeff Legwold also adds that the Broncos’ second-half goal this season should be closing out the campaign with at least six home wins.

“The Broncos are 2-2 this season at home and were 5-4 in 2023, a far cry from Mike Shanahan’s four 8-0 home campaigns during his 14 seasons as head coach or the 7-1 or better home record of three of Peyton Manning’s four teams,” Legwold wrote.

Compiling six home wins would mean the Broncos must defeat the Atlanta Falcons, the Cleveland Browns, the Colts, and the Chiefs to close the season. Given the Broncos have their best chance at making the postseason since 2015, one should expect a true home-field advantage to return to Denver for the final stretch of the 2024 season with a fired-up fanbase watching meaningful football down the stretch once again.

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