Jody Lynne Vetrano

Jody Lynne Vetrano, 64, passed away on September 12, 2026, in Englewood, Colorado, after a battle with COPD, with her immediate family close by.

Jody was born on October 20, 1961, in Lakewood, Colorado, to Donald James Jugert and Pearly Ann (Brott) Jugert. She grew up in Lakewood and went to Green Mountain High School. She built her career as a paralegal and later moved into accounting, and she loved the work at every stage. More than that, she loved being the person people called for help. If you were in a bind, legal or otherwise, Jody would help you sort it out, and she never once made you feel like a burden for asking. Anyone who knew her will tell you the same thing: she had a heart of gold.

She married Michael Vetrano, the light and joy of her life, and over more than 40 years together, Jody and Mike saw the world. They traveled to multiple countries and states across the globe, and they filled their home with memories of every one along with a collection of concert memorabilia from decades of shows together. Rome, Italy held a special place in her heart. In 2017, she took her sons Casey and Patrick there, and she talked about that trip for years afterward, about walking through all that history with her family beside her. She and Mike had so many more trips planned. She was not done exploring.

Jody was a sports fan through and through. Sundays meant the Broncos, and the rest of the year she and Mike cheered on the Rockies, the Nuggets, the Avalanche, and Leicester City Soccer Team.

For all the places she traveled, nowhere compared to Colorado. Jody loved the mountains, and she said it every time she came home from a trip: there is no place like home, and home was Colorado. She also had a lifelong soft spot for bears. Her house was full of them, on shelves, on walls, tucked into corners, and if a show had a bear in it, she was watching. Her family never had to wonder what to get her.

Her kitchen was the heart of her home. Jody cooked for everyone, and her table never ran out of variety. Her fried chicken was the family's favorite by a landslide, the dish everyone requested. Almost everything she made was from scratch, and almost everything she made was for someone she loved dearly.

Above all, Jody was a mother. She raised four children, Patrick, Kevin, Gennefer, and Jamie, and when her grandson Casey came into the world, she opened her heart again and adopted him as her own when he was just a baby. She loved all five fiercely and wanted the best for each of them, and even when they didn't see eye to eye, she was their mother every single time it counted.

Nothing made her happier than bragging about her kids. She told anyone who would listen how proud she was of Patrick and the business he built around his 3D printing, and of Kevin and his eleven years with CDOT and the trip to Silverton she loved so much. And she never stopped talking about Casey. She was proud when he followed her into the legal field, working for the Colorado Judicial Branch, and prouder still when he chased something bigger and went into aviation, first flying for a regional carrier operating for United, Delta, American, and Alaska, then earning a spot with Southwest in 2025. She was, in her words, so “stinkin” proud. She loved that Casey and his fiancé John could travel the world together, and she was counting the days until she could fly free right alongside them with Mike.

Jody was the family photographer. She took thousands of photos and videos over the years, almost all of them of the people she loved, and she never let a moment go undocumented. Those pictures are the gift she left behind, and her family will be looking through them for the rest of their lives.

Jody will be remembered for her heart of gold, her fried chicken, her bears, her camera always at the ready, her love for Colorado, and the fierce, unconditional way she loved her family.

She is survived by her husband Michael; her children Patrick, Kevin, Gennefer, Jamie, and Casey and his fiancé John; her father, Donald Jugert; her sisters Debbie and Mindy; and her brother Donny. She was preceded in death by her mother, Pearly Ann Jugert, and her brother, known to everyone as “Booger”.