DENVER — Veronica Ibarra, who for 27 seasons worked for the Broncos and served as executive assistant for the family of late owner Pat Bowlen, died Saturday after a battle with an aggressive form of cancer.
She was 55.
“She was a one of a kind,’’ said Lisa Williams, who was another of Pat Bowlen’s executive assistants and often worked side by side with Ibarra. “You didn’t pull the wool over her. Her primary focus was to make sure Pat’s family was taken care of. Bills are paid. Help them with car insurance, or getting their car. Or getting the lease right for their apartments. She did everything like a parent would do. Get it done.”
Known for her extraordinary organizational skills, feisty, strong-willed spirit and deep love for the Broncos, Ibarra in many ways was considered the glue of the Bowlen family. Around the Broncos, Ibarra was known for her grit, direct nature and sense of humor.
Pat Bowlen is one of only 12 owners elected to Pro Football Hall of Fame, and Ibarra provided support to both “Mr. B” and his family on organizational and personal matters for more than two decades.
From Super Bowl runs to the logistical undertaking and complexities of a Pro Football Hall of Fame induction involving ownership, Ibarra was there every step of the way.
Bowlen died in 2019 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. His wife, Annabel, and mom to their seven children, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2018.
So you can imagine the role and strong relationship Ibarra had with the Bowlen children.
“Here’s one thing about Veronica – she’s in the hospital and she’s still working on her computer, doing work,’’ Williams said. “’Veronica does the family know?’ No. They don’t need to know, yet.’ ‘Veronica, you should not be working!’ ‘I’ve got to get it done.’ That was her mentality.”
Ibarra and Williams both started working for the Broncos in 1996 and retired, two months apart, in 2022. The Broncos threw a joint retirement celebration for Ibarra, longtime team CEO Joe Ellis and longtime general counsel Rich Slivka in August 2022
“As I told her, we got the good years,’’ said Williams, who got her own retirement party a couple months later. “Look at what we’ve done, look at what we’ve seen. And we were a team all the way through our career.’’
There was the deep personal relationship Ibarra had with the Bowlen children and the team. And there was her work ethic. The two melded together when Ibarra organized and ran the company softball games that would be held once or twice a week in the spring.
“Veronica had incredible attention to detail,’’ Williams said. “She kept notebooks, she wrote everything down. So if I said, 'Oh Vernoica, we did this, this and this,' she would say, ‘Hold on,’ and she’d go back to her notebooks and say, ‘No, that’s not what happened.’
“She just kept of track of everything. It was always, just call Vernica, she’ll know.
“She was head-strong – she got it done. And always a team player, too. ‘What can I do?’ She was an amazing person.’’
Ibarra had six of our own children. She often brought her kids to Broncos’ training camp practices and Super Bowl road trips.
“They were always up in her office, always helping her,’’ Williams said. “She would come in to file and they were always helping her out. I remember one Super Bowl, knocking on her (hotel) door and she’d let me in and there’s bodies, there’s suitcases strewn all over her room and she’d just say, ‘My kids are with me. My kids are with me.’ Family was so huge in her life.”
Ibarra’s funeral service will be held Saturday with a reception for family and friends, including Broncos’ staff members, to be held that afternoon in one of the suites at Empower Field at Mile High.
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