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Keeping Secrets

A well-liked former CIA agent was living another kind of double life in the years before his suicide.

A A A Comments By Julie Jargon Thursday, Aug 2 2001

His other daughter, Jessica Sherwood, agrees. "I really think the timing is coincidental. He was a private person, but he did share stuff with us," she says. "I really think he would have hinted at it if it had been a factor at all."

Sherwood's friends didn't know about his criminal record either, before or after his death.

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Daily Camera columnist Clint Talbott published a glowing tribute to Sherwood on July 19 titled, "Letter to an icon." In it, he wrote, "Dear John, We know it was important for you to be fit. Pedaling your bike through Boulder, stocking up at Whole Foods, trouncing an opponent in tennis, you were healthier than some folks half your age. So your knees were rickety, and your eyes were fading. Minor travails for a man of 76. Nothing to get overwrought about. Certainly not enough to propel you off a cliff. Obviously, you did not agree."

And, in fact, some have advanced theories about his death that have nothing to do with Sherwood's health or his legal problems; conspiracy theorists from Boulder and beyond are now musing over whether Sherwood's death was linked to his former intelligence work. In an article published in the July 19 edition of the Boulder Weekly, Boulder City Councilman Spense Havlick, who described himself as Sherwood's close friend and "soul mate," said the police should "examine this note carefully to be sure it was his and not written under duress, to assure no foul play is at work here."

Sherwood's daughters dismiss the conspiracy theories as ridiculous and remain convinced that their father's failing health was the only factor in his suicide.

"People have told me that they were just playing tennis with my father the other day and he seemed fine," Jessica explains. "But he had his own perception of his physical and mental decline. He held himself to a high standard. People can theorize about this all they want, but the fact is, he was ready to die."