Joe Maynes lost his childhood to the Great Depression, which forced him out of school and into a farm field to help his family.

But he made up for it later in life. At 53, he started jogging - seriously. He ran in 25 Bolder Boulders, the annual Memorial Day 10K race, said his son, Ronnie Maynes, of Littleton.

Joe Maynes didn't stop there, either. When he was old enough, he competed in senior games as a cyclist.

"He discovered the Fountain of Youth," Ronnie said.

But the fountain went dry Jan. 4, when Maynes's heart quit on him. He was 84.

He was born March 4, 1924, in Abbott, N.M., to John and Lucia Lanford Maynes (pronounced May-ness).

He didn't get to play sports as a kid. His family left New Mexico and settled in Fort Collins during the Depression years. Maynes worked on farms, following the crops.

Then he got a job with an ice house in Denver, hauling 100-pound blocks of ice.

One day, he was driving past Baker Junior High School and saw Sara Moya.

"They waved at each other," Ronnie said. "He drove around the block, stopped and asked her for her phone number."

They were married May 25, 1941, in Denver.

Maynes made coming up the hard way look easy.

He dropped out of high school to help his family. He worked at what he could get. In 1949, he hired on with the Denver Water Department. He started as a laborer and quickly moved up. He went on to become assistant superintendent for transmission and distribution.

When he was 78, he had an angiogram, which his doctor said triggered a stroke, which damaged his heart, Ronnie said.

Before he became sick he cared for his wife, who'd become terminally ill with cancer.

And he took care of the elderly. He shoveled snow from the walks of two elderly women in his neighborhood. He made sure his mother, mother-in-law and an elderly aunt received medical care, taking them to and from appointments as well as the grocery store.

All the while, he cared for his four children, teaching them lessons about life and living.

"He taught me how to be independent at a very young age," Ronnie said. "If something was broken, he said you've got to fix it. If something needed to be built, he said you had to go build it. He taught me that you don't procrastinate."

He encouraged his son to get an education.

"He only went to the 10th grade, so he knew that education was important," Ronnie said.

He was a man of his word, said his daughter, Romaine Martinez, of Denver.

"What he said, he meant," Martinez said.

He wasn't merely a father to his children, but a guidance counselor as well.

"He was my leader," said daughter Lorraine Padilla of Denver. "I'm going to miss him because of his guiding me, trying to show me the right way."

His children were equal - no favorites, yet they were all his favorites, said daughter Elaine Bobian of Denver.

"He treated us all the same way," Bobian said. "He didn't treat us any differently."

In addition to his four children, Mr. Maynes is survived by 23 grandchildren and 34 great-grandchildren.

massarog@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5271

Back to Top