Dan Dantes: A colorful force

MONTEZUMA — Dan ‘Dano' Dantes, a colorful and sometimes cantankerous character, loved his life and friends in Montezuma. He died at age 65 on May 11, after battling cancer since November 2008.

Known around Montezuma, Keystone and Dillon as a man not afraid to speak his mind, Dantes frequented the local taverns and worked as a plumber with About Plumbing & Heating for 13 years.

“He was a guy that really loved his friends,” said Brad Sutor, Dantes' friend. “He was a good guy with a bad mouth.”

Though Dantes' language sometimes got him in trouble, he had fun being “a curmudgeon, grouchy and irascible,” said Mary Tuttle, Dantes' significant other for 25 years.

He was even known as “Captain Grumpy” when he manned one of the houseboats rented by his employers.

And he liked to yell at drivers, pedestrians and bikers who he thought weren't' adhering to pertinent rules.

Heavily involved with Montezuma politics and on the council for years, Dantes also cared deeply about the town, acting as its “guardian,” Tuttle said.

According to Paul Hinkley, a friend and neighbor, Dantes didn't want anyone to get away with anything.

“He was often unpleasant and didn't care,” Hinkley said with a grin. “People wanting to build their dream home would come in, and he'd tell them it was the ugliest thing he'd ever seen.”

But, he was also known as a light-hearted guy with an adventurous streak, and an “easy” friend to travel with.

Hinkley traveled with Dantes to more than a dozen countries on three continents during their friendship, including Oktoberfest in Munich, Peru, Australia, and New Zealand.

The two men liked to fly by the seat of their pants — simply picking a destination and figuring out the rest after they arrived.

“It's kind of rare to find that in people,” Hinkley said.

‘Dano' moments

Dantes, who was part of the tight-knit Montezuma scene since the 1980s, “had many shenanigans in town,” Tuttle said. “All the men folk up there like loud bangs.”

Dantes liked to spearhead the annual Montezuma Fourth of July fireworks with Bob “Igniter” Snyder.

He also liked exploring the old mines in the area — “He liked going underground,” Tuttle said.

Hinkley remembers a classic “Dano” moment — the last time Dantes skied, his legs hurt.

So, instead of calling it for the day, the then 50-something took off his equipment and left it

at Copper Mountain, never to ski again.

Another time, Dantes, his son, Aaron, and Hinkley were getting rid of abandoned cars in Montezuma. They hooked a car up to a tractor and Hinkley dragged it down main street with both Dantes men riding in it, waving to tourists.

And Dantes loved Montezuma's views and his dog, Brandie.

“Dan thought he lived in paradise,” Tuttle said.

Dantes would cruise around in his three-wheeler with a grocery sack containing three Budweisers and Brandie up front, going no more than 20 miles per hour.

He also loved to raft. He spent time rafting throughout Colorado, but Hinkley also recalls a time when they went rafting in Peru.

They were dangling their feet in the water, only to find out that it was infested with piranhas.

“Dano was exceptional,” Sutor said. “He lived in the moment. He was always willing to laugh, be passionate, hang out with his friends. His love of life was inspirational.”