Former county clerk, treasurer Myrna Rodenberger remembered as a 'character' with quick wit

Myrna Jean Rodenberger, Larimer County's former county clerk, treasurer and its longest-tenured employee, died Saturday at Torrington (Wyoming) Community Hospital at the age of 84.

Rodenberger's family and friends remember her as a "character," a devoted public servant with a quick wit, easy smile and a way with people. A staunch Republican, she would go "toe-to-toe" with just about anyone, particularly if it involved politics and protection of individual rights.

Born April 25, 1939, Myrna lived all of her life in Larimer County until December when she and her husband, Jim, moved to the Torrington area to be near their children and their families.

The couple married in 1958 and in July celebrated their 65th anniversary. Their daughter, Carrie (CJ), was born in 1960 and they adopted their son, Rick, as an infant in 1968.

Rodenberger was 75 when she retired in 2014 after a 58-year career with the county, a record that may never be broken.

She first joined the county veteran services office in 1956 while a senior at Timnath High School, where she met her future husband, Jim.

Myrna left the veteran services office to work with the extension office at the fairgrounds because she was uncomfortable with veteran services having a gun stashed in a desk drawer. It was there for protection against "problem" clients, she told the Coloradoan in a 2014 interview.

At the time, the county offices were in a three-story courthouse on the downtown Fort Collins block that houses the current courthouse and the one before it.

When speaking about the three buildings in which she worked, Rodenberger referred to them as the "old, old" courthouse, which dated to 1887; the "old" courthouse, which was built in 1957; and the "new" courthouse, which opened in 2000.

She worked in extension and the school superintendent's offices before landing with the clerk and recorder's office. In time, she became responsible for running the county elections department.

In 1983, the county clerk who was term limited encouraged Rodenberger to run for the office, which she did in 1986, winning the seat, which she occupied until terms limits forced her out in 2002. After that, she ran for treasurer, winning a tight primary against then Larimer County Assessor Steve Miller, who was also term limited.

In office, she insisted on providing first-rate customer service. All calls to her office were to be answered by a person rather than voicemail. ""That's customer service," she said in the 2014 interview. "If someone wants to call me, it's because they have a problem or a question. The last thing they need is to talk to a machine."

Myrna's daughter, CJ Grooms, said her mom loved public service. "Go to a restaurant with her and she'd get stopped and end up chit-chatting. She knew everybody and everybody knew her. We'd end up going to the car to wait for her."

When they moved to Wyoming less than a year ago, "her and the lady at the bank got to be best friends," Jim Rodenberger said. "That's how she was. She could make friends with anybody."

Rodenberger's longtime friend and successor, Larimer County Treasurer Irene Josey, remembered Myrna's way with people and sense of humor. "She was wicked smart and if she didn’t remember you, you had never met before," Josey said. "She had more people that called her friend than most people will know in their lifetime."

Grooms said her mom "mothered" people wherever she was. "She had that way of drawing people in. She did not know a stranger. If they were a stranger, they weren't for very long. She'd get to talking with them."

Her plants and flowers were a source of pride and her yards were always full of both. She and Jim farmed just east of Fort Collins and for many decades provided food for families and animals in the area. "Myrna could cook for 100 hungry people like it wasn’t a big deal, and she always made enough to give leftovers to those who needed a meal at home," Josey said.

A lifelong Republican, Rodenberger was a "fierce protector of our liberty" and worked on many campaigns for conservative candidates, Josey said. "Being an elected woman in 1986 in a mostly man’s world was something, but she never met anyone with whom she would not go toe-to-toe" mostly around politics, preserving the Constitution and rights of individuals.

"Knowing Myrna, no doubt she is telling St. Peter how to do it right; how to make pickled beets, Dina Kuga (a German breakfast bread) and the right way to cook a ham," Josey said. "Myrna was one of a kind. And she made a difference."

In addition to her husband, she is survived by her daughter CJ and husband, Mike; son Rick and wife, Tracy; as well as four grandchildren, Tilan and Brandon Grooms and Jillian and Kurt Rodenberger, and five great-grandchildren.

Services will be held in Timnath at a later date. For information, visit colyerfuneralhome.com.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Former Larimer County clerk, treasurer Myrna Rodenberger dies at 84