TRINIDAD (CO) - In life, one seldom finds another who, through their generosity and hospitality, has made as significant an impact on the lives of those around them as one woman has made on the locals of Trinidad. Hence, it is most fitting to bestow the inaugural LAS ANIMAS TIMES PERSON OF THE MONTH title to none other than Ms. Donna J. Leonetti.
In preparation for this October Edition, I sat down with DJ Leonetti just to the left of her favorite barstool at the elbow of the bar-top at DJ’s Park Café, located on Arizona St. Not only has this location been significant for Ms. Leonetti for nearly three decades as the establishment she first co-owned and operated with her brother, Doc, until 2022, but also to myself as it is the site of our first introduction and the birth of our own personal friendship!
As a child, Ms. Leonetti attended St. Thomas Elementary School in the town of Sopris until the 5th grade. It was during this fateful year in history that the United States Army Corps of Engineers evacuated the entire town of Sopris by December 31st, 1970, with plans to build a reservoir in the floodplain of the town to divert the overflow waters of Le Purgatoire river. Despite the construction of the Trinidad Dam being completed in 1976, Sopris was rendered a ghost town until the reservoir was filled in 1977, thus completely submerging DJ’s hometown under nearly 75 feet of ice-cold Colorado rainwater. It was after the 1970 mandatory evacuation that our DJ began again her life five miles east in Trinidad, Colorado, where she has since remained a staple of our beloved city. Donna went on to attend and graduate from Trinidad High School (Go Miners!), and subsequently attend, across the street, Trinidad State College, where she studied the arts — particularly specializing in her preferred medium of photography. Throughout her life, DJ has kept her creative spark through many different pieces of her original works, including her stunning captures of Fisher’s Peak’s iconic silhouette, her own handcrafted knives, and most notably, her impressive collection of charcoal drawings (NOT FOR SALE! Ever…).
Despite her creative spirit and love for the arts, DJ has found herself looking back on a wonderfully fruitful 48-year career in the county treasury office serving the whole of Las Animas. Now enjoying the years of her retirement from civil service, DJ continues to be a giant in the Trinidad community not only through her 27-year ownership of DJ’s Park Café, but through her various charitable acts of goodness. For the past 17 years, Donna has collected pop-can tabs for the Ronald McDonald Foundation from various businesses throughout town, in addition to those collected from her own bar. Her record donation year was 2025 during which Ms. Leonetti collected a whopping 1,050 pounds of tabs; so if you have any tabs saved, send them Donna’s way! Additionally, DJ has spent the last few years being a regular volunteer at the Trinidad Inn nursing home, to which she has a strong personal affinity. However, this die-hard Broncos fan is showing no signs of slowing down her contributions to our great community anytime soon! In fact, this upcoming 2027 season, Donna Leonetti will be joining the staff of our beloved local semi-pro baseball team, the Trinidad Triggers, as the new Assistant General Manager! The vitality of youth is as strong in the spirit of DJ as it is in her ecstatic new puppy, Journee.
Donna J. Leonetti’s impact on Las Animas County is semantically immeasurable and she continues to remain a deeply loved and revered staple of our community befitting the honor of being the inaugural LAS ANIMAS TIMES PERSON OF THE MONTH. But as our dear old friend Frank put it best in his iconic 1964 song, “the best is yet to come, and babe, won’t it be fine.”
Writing for LAS ANIMAS TIMES,
The Don Aiello, singing and signing off…
Donna J. Leonetti Spotlight
DJ’s story of her lifelong involvement in the Las Animas County community begins all the way back in [REDACTED] (a true lady never reveals her age) on the day of her birth. Born the youngest of five, Donna J. Leonetti spent her childhood being raised in the all but forgotten town of Sopris, Colorado. Now, only the keenest of native Colorado readers may be correctly drawing the connection between this town’s namesake and the namesake of another significant state landmark bearing a similar title. For national security purposes, this related location will remain undisclosed in this publication (IYKYK, IYDYD).
