June 3, 1938 - Aug. 24, 2026
“A True Highway Man”
Robert “Buck” Goodyear passed away Aug. 24, 2026. Buck graduated from Durango High School in 1956 and spent two years at Fort Lewis College. He married Martha “Beckie” Estes on Nov. 29, 1957.
He spent most of his life working road construction and then went on to the Colorado Department of Transportation, retiring in 2003 after 26 years of service.
His hobbies, when he found time, were hunting, golf, leatherwork, restoring cars and spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Buck was honored to be a part of the book “Living and Dying in Avalanche Country.” He had a passion for working with the men and women who helped keep Red Mountain and Wolf Creek passes open.
Later, after retirement, he and Beckie moved to Visalia, Calif., to be closer to their parents and other family. They left Visalia in 2024 after 30 years and moved back to Colorado.
Robert, Buck, Dad and Papa Buck was and is loved, and will be missed by all who knew him.
He is survived by his wife, Martha Rebecca “Beckie” Goodyear; and his brother and best friend, Don Lyle Goodyear; his children, William “Bill” Goodyear and Dawn Lea Goodyear Schulz; his grandchildren, Bryanna, Brittney, Lyle “Alex,” Jessica, and Phillip; and his great-grandchildren, Callie, Lily, Cassidy, Charlotte, Kate, Brody, Logan (who shares Buck’s birthday), Rory, Eleanore “EJ,” Aiden, Elizabeth and Remy.
Buck has joined those who preceded him: his grandmother and grandfather, Kathryn and Albert Leary; his father and mother, Lyle “Hap” and Leah “Skeet” Goodyear; his sister, Kaye Vandever; his son, Darrell Goodyear; and his niece, Kelly Vandever.
Buck never met a stranger and was always there to help if you needed help.
Beckie has said, “You still had to do things his way because any other way was wrong.”
It’s time to say, “1-2-3, Gotta Go!”
>