Denzel Goodwin was a cowboy, water negotiator and teller of tall tales.
Goodwin, who counted ranchers, farmers, governors and legislators among his friends, died Feb. 3 at his home in Grand Junction. He was 86.
Goodwin was a founder of the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District and chairman for 22 years. For 16 years, he was a director of the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District.
“He forgot more about water laws than most people ever knew,” said Jim Broderick, who was executive director of the southeastern district.
“He was the only cowboy I ever knew who had a stack of red books — the Colorado statutes,” said Ken Baker, consultant for the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District.
Goodwin kept up on all aspects of water, where it came from, who used it and how, and what the legislature and other public entities were doing about water use, colleagues said.
Goodwin was a Fremont County commissioner, on the original board for Cotopaxi Consolidated Schools and president of the Fremont County Cattlemen’s Association.
Often he was an expert witness in water disputes and did lobbying, said his son Chris Goodwin of Strasburg.
Goodwin loved to tell stories, including the two times he roped a bear. The first time the bear bit off part of his index finger. The second time he roped a cub and took it to his coffee shop to show his buddies. Awhile later, the game warden told him to stop roping bears, said his son David Goodwin of Tempe, Ariz.
Denzel Goodwin loved to play practical jokes and tell long, meandering stories that had a “gotcha” ending.
His grandkids viewed him as a “cuddly, funny storyteller, who taught them to drive a pickup and get on a horse,” David Goodwin said. But the grandkids didn’t realize Denzel Goodwin’s ability “as an amazing cowboy,” said David Goodwin.
“He could herd 5,000 or 6,000 cattle by himself from 5,000 feet (elevation) to 10,000 feet, which was about 15 miles,” David Goodwin said.
“He always got his point across with stories,” said Broderick, but sometimes it took a while and listeners didn’t know until the end that he really knew what he was talking about when it came to water laws.
He had a lot of sayings, such as, “The wind was blowing so hard it blew the shade away from the tree,” Chris Goodwin said.
Denzel State Goodwin was born Feb. 6, 1924, on the family homestead near Joy Coy, a southeastern Colorado town that no longer exists.
He studied civil engineering at Colorado State University and left to join the Navy. He served on a destroyer in the Pacific.
He married Marcheta Gooden in 1946. For years they ranched in the Howard-Cotopaxi area in southern Colorado. A born wise-cracker, Goodwin always referred to his wife as “my first wife,” even after they had been married 64 years.
He was a cowboy from the time he was a kid, becoming a champion roper, something he did well into his 60s, said his son Tom Goodwin of Cañon City.
In addition to his wife and sons, Denzel Goodwin is survived by 13 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.
