Pat Greer was known for his longtime advocacy for the Animas-La Plata Water Project and his lifetime of membership in the Marvel Grange and Marvel Methodist Church, along with volunteering for 4-H and rural groups.

He died on Oct. 16 at home near Marvel, surrounded by family members. He was 87 years old.

What people might not know is that he and his wife, Lila, took in 25 youths over the years, giving them food, love and shelter, and requiring them to do chores and attend church with the family. Some of the kids just needed a place to stay so they could get to school, while others had a troubled family life.

“He was a very loving father,” remembered his daughter, Karen Ray. “He was very calm. He never really got mad, but if he got mad, you knew it.”

Greer died close to where he was born. The original family home had burned down, and the new house was built a few feet away in 1961.

“He’s the only Greer that we’re aware of who was born and raised, and died, on the homestead,” Ray said.

In addition to ranching and farming, after high school Greer worked on the first power line that was built between Ouray and Silverton, said his son, Jim. He worked on other engineering and construction jobs, including the snow shed on Red Mountain and rebuilding and paving roads over Lizard Head Pass and between Durango and Mancos.

What people remember about their dad includes his fine singing voice, firm handshake and big bear hugs given whenever someone needed one, Ray said.

“It was just that touch that told you everything was going to be OK,” she remembered. Friends who came to visit Greer during his last days told Ray and her siblings about his kind actions and words.

“I never heard of anybody he didn’t get along with,” Jim Greer said.

Pat was one of the Singing Greers, a family group made up mostly of his uncles and aunts, that performed at local gatherings.

He met his wife, Lila Eldridge, at Durango High School. They wed shortly after she graduated, when they were both 19, and remained married for 68 years.

Unfortunately, two boys threw him off the balcony at school, crushing his wrists and elbow.

Local doctors wanted to amputate his arm, but his mother wouldn’t allow it, and Greer’s sister would not allow doctors in Denver to amputate, either. He wore casts for six months and required several surgeries to recover.

“That affected him for the rest of his life,” Ray said, noting that her father could never straighten his arm after the incident. “But it never got him down. That’s what I like about him the most. He just kept going.”

Jim Greer noted that very few people knew his father had a handicap.

Along with ranching and raising a family, Greer continued his father’s work of lobbying on behalf of the A-LP project, traveling to Washington, D.C., to testify on its behalf.

“He knew they needed to get water to the western part of the county,” Ray said.

He and Lila also led a 4-H group to the nation’s capital, where the young people remembered his cowboy hat sticking out above the crowd, making him easy to find as they toured the sights.

Whether he was at a board meeting, in church or sitting around the dinner table, people knew that he meant what he said, his children remembered.

“He strongly believed in the community,” Ray said of her father’s volunteer work. “He believed if you live in the community, you should be part of the community.”

Greer also served on the La Plata Water Conservancy District, La Plata County Fair Board and the La Plata County Planning Commission.

He is survived by his wife and four children, who all live in the area, as well as 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

Of the 25 other youths who came to live with the Greers over the years, all but one of them were able to get their lives back on a straight path, Ray said.

“We all know we’re going to see him again,” she said of her family’s strong faith.

In a 2016 Durango Herald article, the Greers were asked the secret to their long marriage.

“I think commitment is the biggest thing,” Pat Greer said. “When you took those vows, you took them seriously.”

Services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 23, at the Marvel Methodist Church, the church founded by his grandparents and other residents of the Dryside.

Interment will be in the Marvel Cemetery, with a potluck immediately following at the Marvel Grange.

Memorial contributions can be made to the Marvel Methodist Church, PO Box 122, Marvel, CO 81329.