J.R. Duran tried twice to get a $3,000 loan from a bank in Trinidad. When the banker asked for collateral, he said, “What’s collateral? I have a wife and three little kids.”
Finally, he got the loan after a friend co- signed with him, and that was the beginning of Duran Oil Co., which expanded across southern Colorado and into Oklahoma and New Mexico.
“He lived the American dream,” said his son, Ray, of Trinidad.
Duran died Oct. 1 in Littleton from complications of diabetes. He was 75.
Starting with one truck stop, Duran built a small empire of 14 truck stops/convenience stores in Trinidad, Pueblo, Monte Vista, Del Norte, Salida, Springfield, Nathrop, Raton, N.M., and Boise City, Okla.
“He had good business sense,” Ray Duran said. “And he was so likable.”
Every day, he was doing something for someone, whether it was helping an employee or buying a special pair of shoes for a friend, said his daughter Corinne Duran-Abeyta of Littleton.
He laughed when people asked if had a college degree.
“I have a Ph.D.,” his son recalled him saying. “Post-hole digger.”
J.R. Duran took little time off and never thought he should end his day before dark, his son said.
“He would come home thoroughly exhausted.”
J.R. Duran was a founder and one of the first presidents of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and helped raise money for the Southern Colorado Coal Miners Memorial.
He was a well-known figure in Trinidad, and when his funeral procession went down the street last week, most store owners stood silently on the sidewalk to show their respect.
Joe Raymond Duran was born March 16, 1930, in El Ojito, a small farming community 10 miles from Trinidad. He attended Hoehne High School near Trinidad and Trinidad State Junior College.
He got jobs as an auto mechanic with Rosen Novak Ford in Denver and later Sanders Skyline Service. He drove a truck for Continental Oil Co.
He saved and borrowed until he could buy some land, run a few cattle and raise alfalfa, and borrowed the money to buy the truck stop. The ranch, which grew to 1,500 acres, was his place to escape, his son said.
On Nov. 3, 1951, he married Marie Lidia Medina. She preceded him in death.
He served in the Army during the Korean War and was awarded a Purple Heart and Bronze Star. He helped found the Korean War Veterans southern Colorado chapter, and they created the Trinidad Korean War Memorial at the Colorado Welcome Center.
In addition to his son and daughter, he is survived by two more daughters, Veronica Rivera of Pueblo and Bernadette Duran of Trinidad; and 15 grandchildren.
Staff writer Virginia Culver can be reached at 303-820-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com.
