Norm Early, Denver’s first Black district attorney and a champion of victims’ rights, has died of complications from diabetes, according to family members. He was 76 years old.

“He was always a family man, always smiling. Whenever we would go out to eat, he had the whole restaurant laughing,” said his niece, Malika S. Flowers of Atlanta.

Early was Denver’s top prosecutor from 1983 to 1993. Senior Denver County Court Judge Gary Jackson told The Denver Gazette that he and Early met in 1970 when they took a refresher course on the bar exam. They were the only two Black men in the class.

“He was working for the legal aid service of Colorado and I was young deputy DA,” Jackson said. “He had that engaging laugh, a big smile. He was a friend to everyone he met. He was a national speaker for prosecutors. He was just a terrific role model.”

Jackson said Early had been ill for some time. Early was the founder and first president of the National Black Prosecutors Association. And at the 1972 Democratic National Convention, he was a Colorado delegate for Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman to run for president.

He ran for mayor in 1991 and was the favorite to win until a relatively unknown challenger named Wellington Webb started walking the neighborhoods and knocking on doors in a pair of sneakers and scored a come-from-behind win.

Webb told The Denver Gazette that the two shook hands after the election and he appointed Early as the Denver representative to the Stadium District.

“He got the best of the deal,” Webb said. “I had to handle people complaining about trash collection and he got to hang out with the Denver Broncos and talk about how big the stadium was going to be and eat the hot dogs and popcorn.”

Webb said he and Early belonged to a group of five young Black Colorado leaders the press dubbed “The Young Turks.” In addition to Webb and Early, the group included Dan Muse, a former Denver city attorney and assistant attorney general; Raymond Jones, Colorado’s first Black appellate judge; and former state Rep. King Trimble.

“Our goal was to see that we could do the impossible,” Webb said.

Early found joy in mentoring young Black attorneys, including Wayne McKenzie, Wayne S McKenzie, General Counsel for the New York City Department of Probation. “When I first met Norm in Washington, DC, I was a baby prosecutor in a room full of some of the most experienced and high ranking African American prosecutors in the country,” McKenzie said. “He noticed and walked over to welcome me and made me feel as special as any other person in the room.  And from that day, until the text message I just happened to send him yesterday, he has been a guiding force in my life.”

Gary Jackson said Early grew up in Washington, D.C., went to Calvin Coolidge High School and graduated from American University.

Former Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey told The Denver Gazette that Early had no money for college, but he was recruited to run track and got a scholarship to AU. To help pay tuition, Early worked on the school’s buildings and grounds crew.

“We rode on the trucks, moved furniture, washed desks, that sort of thing. Most of the guys who worked there were athletes, and they were fun,” he told the American University paper. “And during the course of working on the trucks, friendships were born.”

He went to law school at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and then settled in Denver.

Three weeks ago, Early’s portrait was unveiled at a ceremony at the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library. Webb, Jackson and Kendall Early, Norm Early’s son, attended the unveiling.

Early’s death brought sadness to a number of Denver prosecutors who worked with him.

In a statement Thursday, Denver District Attorney Beth McCann said: “Norm was a giant in the Denver DA’s office and whenever he was giving a closing argument, we all cleared our schedules to be able to watch. Norm was always passionate about victims of crime and made their well-being a cornerstone of his time as district attorney. He was also a personal friend of mine; a man I respected very much. I will miss him.”

Morrissey said Early worked on numerous noteworthy cases such as the Alan Berg murder, the United Bank murders and the case against Capitol Hill rapist Quintin Wortham, who terrorized Denver in the 1980s. Wortham was convicted and sentenced to nearly 400 years in prison.

“Last night not only law enforcement but the entire community lost a larger-than-life character in Norm Early. Norm was Denver’s DA and hired me as a prosecutor. I will always be grateful,” Morrissey said.

Early had another son, Ali, who died of cancer three months ago, Flowers said.