James Gregory Lucero

James Gregory Lucero, beloved husband, father, brother and friend, passed away on March 25th, 2026. Born on November 28th, 1961 to Frank and Agnes (Medina) Lucero in Monte Vista, Colorado, Jim was the youngest of 7 children. He grew up and attended high school in Monte Vista, where he pursued a love for sports playing both football and baseball. Jim was a first-generation college student who earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial technology from Colorado State University in 1986. He went on to build a distinguished career in international supply chain management, having worked for Anheuser Busch, Advanced Energy, Woodward and Otterbox. He retired in 2021. During his career, Jim traveled to many countries, including the Netherlands, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and China. He especially loved getting to walk the Great Wall of China. In his free time, Jim greatly enjoyed listening to music, learning about history, golfing, refinishing antique decorations and working in his yard. Jim had a youthful spirit, finding joy with fun holiday lawn inflatables and collecting Hot Wheel cars. The Hot Wheels were just the start, as Jim was an avid car enthusiast and especially loved visiting vintage car museums, attending car shows and cruising around in his prized Shelby GT Mustang. Yet his greatest passion in life was his wife, Connie (Espinosa). Jim and Connie’s love story spanned six decades, starting when they met in the third grade to dating in high school to tying the knot on July 2nd, 1983. They settled down in Fort Collins shortly after, where they raised two wonderful boys, Matthew and Scott, and gained a daughter-in-law Valerie (Hisam) in 2012. Although Jim and Connie traveled to many fun cities around the United States, their favorite location they returned to time and time again was Hawaii. From parasailing to hiking volcanoes to walks on the many beaches with their favorite shave ice, “Tsunami Jim” loved telling family and friends about their adventures on the islands. To know Jim was to know that he cared deeply for his family. He was always on the phone with his mom or one of his siblings, playing VR golf with his brother Paul, and never missed a family get together. Jim loved creating photo slide shows for family celebrations and he had an ability to captivate an audience with his storytelling. Jim will be fondly remembered for his kindness, joy in meeting new people and his unwavering love for his family and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Frank “Sonny” Lucero Jr. and brother Michael Lucero. A memorial service for family and friends will be scheduled for summer 2026. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations can be made in Jim Lucero’s memory to the Autism Society of Colorado (https://www.autismcolorado.org/donate-to-asc).

James Gregory Lucero

November 28, 1961 - March 25, 2026