Robert Tyner

Native Durango area resident, Robert H. “Bob” Tyner died of natural causes at Sunshine Gardens Country Home on Tuesday, July 16, 2013. He was 98. Mr. Tyner was born May 14, 1915, to George Henry Tyner, Jr. and Elizabeth Bradley Banks Tyner on a ranch located in the Florida River Valley about 12 miles east of Durango, Colorado. His grandfather settled in the valley in 1882. As the oldest of two children, Bob assumed a great deal of family responsibility after his mother passed away when he was 14. Up through the tenth grade he rode horseback long distances to attend one and two-roomed schools. He graduated from Durango High School in 1933. During the depression Bob spent time in Civilian Conservation Corp camps located on the site currently occupied by Fort Lewis College and later in a camp at Golden, Colorado, where he worked on the construction of Red Rocks Amphitheatre. He attended Fort Lewis A&M, now Fort Lewis College, at the old campus near Hesperus, and transferred to Colorado State University where he graduated in 1940 with a BS degree in Civil and Irrigation Engineering. Bob married Calla Mae Baird July 27, 1940, in Aztec, New Mexico. Bob’s passing comes 11 days shy of their 73rd wedding anniversary. Immediately follow their wedding they left for Washington, D.C., where Bob took a job helping tabulate the 1940 census. After eight months, Bob got a job with the Town of Cortez back in Colorado where he was in charge of installing that town’s first sewer system. In the fall of 1942, he went to work for the Bureau of Reclamation in Durango, where he spent the next 30 years. The office was responsible for water resource development in the San Juan and Dolores River Basins in the Four Corners area. Bob became Project Manager in 1963. During his tenure with the Bureau five water projects were turned over to their respective water user organization and three additional projects were authorized by Congress. During the nine-year period Bob was Project Manager, he worked with Boards of Directors of nine different Conservation Districts, three City Councils, and the Councils of three Indian Tribes, all located within a 150-mile radius of Durango. After he retired from the Bureau of Reclamation, he became Manager of the Southwestern Water Conservation District, coordinating the same projects he had previously been working on and lobbying Congress for funds to support those projects. During this time he also subdivided the La Plata Vista Subdivision. In 1980 he retired for the second time and the last lot in the
subdivision sold. He will be remembered as a family man, a volunteer, and one who gave his all in everything he did. Bob Tyner had a passion for helping others. When his boys were younger, he was very involved in Boy Scout leadership. He was a lifelong member of the Kiwanis Club of Durango. Since retirement, Bob and Calla Mae have been involved in such activities as: Marriage Encounter, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Bright Beginnings, Junior Achievement, United Way, and Parents Who Care. They founded and managed the Eye & Ear Program of La Plata County, an organization that continues to give glasses and hearing aids to thousands of children and adults who cannot afford them. They were very active in the First United Methodist Church of Durango. Bob enjoyed hunting, fly-fishing, camping, skiing with his granddaughters and traveling with his wife in their motorhome. His family joked that the Robert Redford movie, “A River Runs Through It,” was similar to the friendly competition he had with his two sons. He taught by example the value of both working and playing hard and he believed any situation could be improved by a positive attitude and a dose of extra effort. He is preceded in death by his brother George Franklin Tyner and his oldest son James Henry Tyner. He is survived by his wife of almost 73 years Calla Mae Tyner, his son and daughter-in-law Ronald S. & Katie Tyner of Durango, four grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 27, 2013, at The First United Methodist Church located at 2917 Aspen Drive in Durango with Pastor Jeff Huber and Pastor Roger Haney officiating. Cremation has occurred and joint burial will occur upon the passing of his wife Calla Mae. Memorial contributions can be made to either the Eye & Ear Program of La Plata County at P.O. Box 121, Durango, CO 81302; or to Cadence Therapeutic Riding at 120 CR 236, Durango, CO 81301.