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ESTES PARK, Colo. (KDVR) — FOX31 has learned more about the father who was killed in a shooting along Interstate 70 on Father’s Day weekend. 

When John Jaros wasn’t running his business or volunteering at the fire station, he was at the Stanley Park Events Center and Fairgrounds in Estes Park for the Rooftop Rodeo.

“You know, we’re all just so numb still,” Mark Purdy said. “John was a pretty big guy. He was a linebacker kind of guy.”

Mark Purdy said Jaros’ presence in the rodeo arena will be missed. Since 2008, Jaros was a member of the committee. 

“[He] has been with us ever since. He’s done a lot of different jobs in the arena,” Purdy said.  “His main job the last bunch of years was to pull these gates open when the cowboys are ready to buck out.” 

If you’ve been to a rodeo, you know the gateman job takes some guts. 

“The other job that he loved to do for us was kind of the opposite end of the spectrum. He was in the mutton busting where they load up kids and put them on a sheep run across the arena,” Purdy said.

Rooftop Rodeo works to help the Jaros family after tragedy

The group of rodeo guys is now working to wrangle up some way to help his family.

“For the next week to 10 days, (Jaros’ wife) Katie is going to be surrounded by friends and family from all over but at some point, everybody has to go home. And that’s the hard part when you lose somebody. I’ve been through that too many times, and so that’s when we really all have to pitch in and help out,” Purdy said.

Because they say Jaros would have put them first too.

“John, if you’re listening, we’ve got your family, and we got your back on that, and we’ll do everything we can to help them out,” Purdy said.  

The Rooftop Rodeo is coming up on July 6-11 and they plan to do something for Jaros during the event.