Gavino Padilla, 79, longtime Morgan County resident, passed away suddenly early Thursday, August 31, 2006, at the emergency room at Colorado Plains Medical Center in Fort Morgan. He was born March 8, 1927, in Scholle, NM. He served in the US Army. He moved to Morgan County in 1947. On January 19, 1948, Gavino married Maria Carmen Perea. Prior to retirement, Gavino owned and operated a lawn care business. He was a member of St. Helena Catholic Church and the American Legion. He enjoyed visiting people and he is remembered by many as a practical joker, telling jokes and playing jokes on family and friends. He loved spending time with his grandchildren and working in his vegetable garden. Survivors include his wife, Maria of Brush; 3 sons, Robert of Brush, Eloy of Fort Morgan, and Michael of Pueblo; 1 daughter, Beatrice Padilla of Durango, Mexico; 3 brothers, Leo Romero of Barstow, CA, John Padilla and Ed Padilla both of Denver; 3 sisters, Tomasita Suerez of Puebo, Sally Boltz of Denver, and Stella Blea of Colorado Springs; 17 grandchildren and 36 great grandchildren. He was preceded in death death by 1 son, Saturnino; 2 daughters, Josephine Padilla and Theresa Padilla, 1 sister and his parents. A rosary service will be at St. Helena Catholic Church in Fort Morgan on Tuesday at 7:00 PM. Mass of Christian Burial will be Wednesday at 11:00 AM at St. Helena Church. Interment will follow in the Brush Memorial Cemetery. Arrangements are entrusted to the Heer & Jolliffe Mortuary in Fort Morgan and Brush. Friends who wish may make memorial gifts to Colorado Plains Medical Center in Fort Morgan.