Wheat Ridge native Gary L. Myers, former owner of Fay Myers Motorcycle World in Centennial, CO, died on Sunday, Aug. 4. He was 75 years old.
Myers had been experiencing heart problems for some time, and was in home hospice care when he died. According to Fay Myers Sales Manager Gary Merrill, Myers had returned fairly recently from the Mayo Clinic where tests were performed to determine if it were possible to slow his deteriorating condition.
“His heart just wore out,” according to Merrill, who had a 55-year friendship with Myers. Myers was a serious bicyclist for decades and had competed worldwide in races. Even late in his life, he rode 300-400 miles a week.
Myers became a serious mountain bike racer in the 1980s. According to his son, Mark, Myers won many accolades in that sport, including three national championships and a world championship in his age class. But that came after a successful career racing motorcycles. Mark Myers said that his father lived and raced in Holland during his 20s.
“He was the Dutch Junior Champion and for a time was considered to be one of the top 10 riders in the world,” he said. When he returned to Denver in the late 1960s Myers raced throughout the Mountain West, winning endurance races in Steamboat Springs and Crested Butte, among others.
Myers assumed leadership at Fay Myers in 1975 and with his motorcycle racer’s enthusiasm and knowledge turned it into one of the nation’s top motorcycle and power sports dealers. “Almost all its success could be attributed to him,” his son said.
“When he took it over we only had one brand of bikes and now we have 15,” Merrill said. “He made the place grow.”
“He was the best person I ever worked for. We had a lot of fun and did a lot of business,” said Fay Myers Parts Manager Scott Rosenthal, who starting working with Myers in 1979. “We always went trail riding or motocross riding on the weekends.”
While his business grew, Myers never forgot the people who worked with him.
“He came in here a couple of months ago for a retirement party,” Merrill said. “He could remember every person who ever worked there … it was a family affair. He came down here often and everybody was always happy to see him. My phone has been ringing non-stop with people calling expressing sorrow and telling Myers stories. He told me once that when you’re dying all you have is memories. Exactly right. We have the greatest memories in the world.”
“He had one of the best measures of a life well lived,” his son said. “It’s unbelievable the number of people who’ve reached out to me to tell how much he was loved.”
Gary Myers is survived by Mark, his daughter Nellie and three grandchildren.
To learn more about Fay Myers Motorcycle World, click here.
