Our vice-president Dr. Annette Cannon posted this on Facebook on May 17, 2026: A litte bit about Pat. Patricia Mae Badwound, 66, of Denver, Colorado passed away on January 26, 2026. Patricia, or Pat, was born on May 18, 1959 to Joy (Sr.) and Doris Badwound in Kimball, NE, the eldest of 8 children. The Joy Badwound Sr. branch of the Owe Sica tiaspaye (Bad Wound family) grew up along the Rocky Mountain prairie west area, stretching as far as Yankton, South Dakota down to Nebraska, with early stints around North Denver, before finally rooting for good in Gillette, Wyoming in 1966.
Pat attended Eastside and Westside Elementary Schools, Twin Spruce Junior High, and Campbell County High School, cultivating lifelong friends who remained to this day. During these years, Pat’s vocation for music routed through choir and singing, and as an avid fan and oldest sister to her siblings, she also enjoyed all the local sports they participated in around the Gillette area. Her first son Sean was born in 1975, and she began work in the local coal mines but also developed a taste for broadcast radio. Beginning work at KOLL-FM, her attention to detail and willingness to learn quickly, coupled with an unmistakable speaking voice, delivery and radio presence, changed the trajectory of her career ambitions into a lifelong love and curiosity with the radio business. The same year she achieved her diploma, she introduced her second son, Timothy, in 1979. The following year, in 1980, her third son Christopher was born, and in 1982, her final son Justin joined the family.
During the following decade, Pat alternated time between Denver and Gillette, both trying to raise her boys and pursue her career goals and ambitions. Her stints in Denver included learning the various functions and roles of radio broadcasting working at KOA-FM and KDKO-FM of Denver, while back in Gillette, she was led back to the coal mine, picking up some mic time at KGWY-FM, and as a substitute teacher for the Campbell County School District. Her love for the John Elway-era Denver Broncos cemented in her heart, always making time to watch games with family and friends.
In 1991, while working at KUVO-FM, she met the man who would become her first and only husband, Brent Conway (of Oklahoma), and the following year, they began their marriage that lasted several years before an amicable parting. However, several weeks after the wedding, our father Joy (Sr.) passed away, and Pat moved back to Gillette, where she would stay to see all of her boys graduate high school.
She was most proud of her time working alongside her siblings while at BOCES as a cottage aide for developmentally disabled children. She supported all her sons in their various pursuits, athletic and otherwise. Sean, Tim and Justin would all join different branches of service post graduation, and she was extremely proud to be a Military Mom.
Sometime around 2004, Pat began having renal failure, and the ensuing few years would largely be spent habilitating through dialysis, although not much could stop her from getting out and enjoying karaoke, playing bingo, and traveling to her favorite places with her family. She also took courses at the Gillette College and learned coding and grant writing.
In 2008, when she was awarded a probable organ match prior to a successful kidney transplant, she began advocating on behalf of organ donorship, grateful for a second chance at life, and thus remained a faithful advocate for organ donation. Her stay in Denver this round would last for several years as a champion volunteer for Donate for Life with a rejuvination of life, and began re-shaping her sense of purpose.
She was determined to live the rest of her life on her own terms, as she always had been a fiercely independent person, with new goals. During this time, she and her son Christopher became very close and often lived with each other until 2013. For several months leading up to April of this year, Pat bonded by Christopher’s side up until his passing in Gillette. After this, Pat moved back to Denver permanently. She spent the rest of her life pursuing all of her loves and curiosities, and began advocating and becoming more involved with issues she believed in.
She became an advocate for the Denver chapter of NARF, the Native American Rights Fund, which raises funds to support North American tribal pursuits to protect and defend all native rights and lands. She also joined the ACLU, where being legally blind never stopped her from protesting and marching in the streets. She also coordinated events and helped her friends at the Colorado Center for the Blind.
In her final chapter with us, her greatest passion dovetailed back to music, as she met a group of musicians who came to collaborate with her to complete her last creative endeavor, and she became a strong surrogate and loving mentor for her youngest nieces.
After several years of renal failure on our borrowed, precious second chance at life together, Pat passed away on January 26, 2026. Her intense independence, unyielding determination to stand up for what she believed was worth fighting for, deep love and fierce loyalty to her family and friends are already missed, but is being carried out in the hearts and minds of those who loved her, and who continue to walk in her spirit.
Pat was preceded in death by her parents, Joy Badwound, Sr. and Doris Badwound; her brothers Joy Badwound (infant), Joy Badwound (Jr.), Anthony (Tony Hernandez-) Badwound, and Eric Badwound; and her son Christopher Badwound. She is survived by her brothers Bruce (Deb) Badwound, Reynold Badwound, and Charles Badwound of Gillette, her sister Melody (Wright) of Thornton, Colorado; her sons Sean (Stephanie) Badwound of Spearfish, South Dakota, Timothy Badwound of St. Louis, Missouri, and Justin (Ashly) Badwound of Coronado, California; her grandchildren Brady, Bailey, Sydney, Oliver, Brody, Abby and Ella, and many nieces and nephews.
Barb Dye: Thank you for that information, Annette. Pat was a member of COMBO (the Colorado Music Business Organization) and she wrote a song which she entered into our Songwriting Contest in 2025. It was a heart-breaker about Native Americans wanting to be able to vote if they lived on a reservation. It was such an educational and informational song. I think she wrote other songs as she asked about entering in previous years but she never did enter any of her songs. She came to our Holiday Party in December 2025 and I had a chance to visit a little with her then and on the drive home (she lived near me). I was so stunned to hear of her passing. She seemed like such a lovely person, one who cared about her family and her peoples a lot. Rest in paradise, Pat.
Photo: Pat Badwound
