Durango resident Leo Lloyd died Thursday morning from heart complications during a bike ride with one of his sons in the Twin Buttes area, according to his family.
He was 60.
Lloyd was an avid athlete, backcountry explorer and all-around outdoorsman. He hiked, ran, biked, rock-climbed, ice-climbed and never did anything halfway, said his brother, Joe Lloyd, owner of the Durango Joes coffee shops.
Leo Lloyd also spent 42 years in emergency services, including Durango Fire Protection District, La Plata County Search and Rescue, and other agencies, his brother said.
“He loved teaching and training people and mentoring people in the search and rescue community,” he said. “That was his passion. ... And making sure people that were stuck in a situation ... were safe.”
DFPD Chief Hal Doughty said Lloyd was well-known in both the EMS and technical rescue communities.
“He had incredible accomplishments when it came to the things he had done both with Durango Fire and La Plata County Search and Rescue,” he said.
He said Lloyd worked for several flight services and served as a helicopter medic for years.
Lloyd also worked for an international rope rescue company called Rigging for Rescue where he provided “worldwide technical rescue training and all kinds of really interesting, tough assignments,” Doughty said, including training U.S. Armed Forces in the San Juan Mountains to prepare them for Afghanistan’s rugged terrain.
Across the last 39 years, Lloyd organized an annual 18-mile loop through the Grand Canyon, he said.
Lloyd was also a family man, his brother said. He loved his three sons and his wife, Susie Lloyd.
Joe Lloyd said his brother always had time for people who wanted to listen to a good story or learn the intricacies of a rope rescue.
“He strived to do the right things,” he said. “I’m so proud to be known as Leo’s brother. ... I’m really going to miss him. This is a guy who passed away way too soon. He had so much more in the tank to give. And that’s why he’ll be missed.”
cburney@durangoherald.com
