Arnold Paul Trujillo was welcomed to the House of God on July 27, 2025. Arnold, 74, is survived by his high school sweetheart, Violet Trujillo, his daughters, Shalene Trujillo, Heather Romero (Alfred Romero Jr.), and his granddaughters, Keleraini Trujillo-Valdez and Gabriella Acevedo-Trujillo (Andres Garcia Jr.).
Arnold was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on June 18, 1951, to Arthur and Gertrude Trujillo. After his birth, the family moved to Center, Colo.
While Arnold was living in Center, Colo., he met Violet in high school. They married on July 17, 1971. Shortly after they were married, they packed up their belongings and moved to Colorado Springs so Arnold could attend the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS) to obtain a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. He committed his life to law enforcement and soon became the youngest Chief of Police at the age of 25 for UCCS.
After serving 17 years as the Police Chief at UCCS, his career as a campus Police Chief took off, taking him to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Cal State San Marcos in California, and then brought him back to his beautiful home state of Colorado, where he served as the Police Chief at Fort Lewis College.
After retiring from the Fort, he began working for the Durango School District as a security guard. As “Chief” Trujillo would say, he went down a couple of grades, and soon many students referred to him as the Abuelito of the high school.
Everyone loved Arnold; he never failed to put a smile on everyone’s face. Arnold left the world knowing he accomplished everything he could in his life. His legacy will now live on through his family, his brothers and sisters. and all his nieces and nephews, whom he loved very much.
Hun, Dad, Grandpa, till we meet again at the table for breakfast, we love you forever and always. Fly high with the angels.
A memorial service and reception will be held at St. Columba Catholic Church on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, at 10 a.m. in Durango, Colo.
There will be a second Memorial Service and reception at St. Jerome Catholic Church on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, at 10 a.m. at 781 Warden St., Center, CO 81125.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Manna Soup Kitchen or the Durango School District Special Needs Program.
