News Article

Four generations keep water flowing through Denver

Family’s utility legacy spans 80 years as fathers, sons and cousins follow each other’s footsteps.

Since 1948, Denver Water has not gone a year without a member of Joe Maynes’ family.

The Maynes family roots run four generations deep at Denver Water, a legacy so broad that his great-grandsons are now fixing pipes he buried decades ago.

Graphic of a family tree featuring four generations — Joe Maynes started at Denver Water in 1948; three generations later Maynes’ great-grandsons are following in the family tradition at the utility. Image credit: Denver Water.

“I was working on an emergency repair a few days ago and said, ‘I bet Joe Maynes put this in years ago,’” laughed Josh Martinez, Maynes’s great-grandson and a utility tech in T&D who started at Denver Water in 2023. “He had a way of doing things.”

In 1948, 15 years before Denver Water finished building Dillon Reservoir, Joe Maynes came on board as a Denver Water employee. He started in the field, laying pipe for the fast-growing city. Over four decades, Joe worked hard at the utility, leaving his mark throughout Denver’s underground and eventually retiring in 1988 as an assistant superintendent.

Two men stand together — Joe Maynes, left, stands with his son Roy Maynes. Both worked at Denver Water for more than three decades, starting a family legacy at Denver Water that now spans four generations. Photo credit: Billy Martinez.

“I’ll be reviewing as-builts now, and I’ll see his name handwritten as the foreman who built it,” said Billy Martinez, water distribution supervisor who started at Denver Water in 1996 and is part of the third generation of Maynes’ family members at Denver Water.

“You’ll just come across it, and I’ll say, ‘Look, my grandfather’s name is on this,’” Billy said.

Billy recalled that his grandfather Joe didn’t talk much about the day-to-day work, but he was proud of his career that allowed him to raise a family and meet lifelong friends.

“He used to tell my mom that we’re all going to be Denver Water employees,” Billy said. “He always wanted us to fall in his footsteps.”

An old newspaper photo of a man opening a fire hydrant — Joe Maynes, left, demonstrates how to open a fire hydrant in this old newspaper clip. Clip provided by: Billy Martinez.

In the 1960s, Joe’s son Roy joined the utility’s electrical shop, the start of a career that spanned more than three decades at Denver Water.

Joe’s son-in-law, Gill Martinez (Billy’s father), was hired in 1974, starting as a caretaker at Gross Reservoir in Boulder County, later transferring to Dillon Reservoir and then to the metro area to be Denver Water’s district supervisor for the High Line Canal.

Billy was born when his father worked at Gross Reservoir and then moved to Dillon as a child when his father transferred to the Summit County reservoir.

“I remember Dad taking us to Dillon’s spillway, showing us the machinery down there and plowing snow,” said Billy. “I was awfully young.”

A man sits in a brown chair — Joe’s son-in-law, Gill Martinez (Billy’s father), was hired at Denver Water in 1974. He was a caretaker at the utility’s Gross Reservoir in Boulder County, then Dillon Reservoir in Summit County and then district supervisor for the High Line Canal. Photo credit: Billy Martinez.

Bobby Padilla, Billy’s cousin and Joe’s grandson, remembers long summer days at Dillon with his cousins and winter vacations spent sledding down the mountainside with old rubber backhoe tires.

“We’d help Uncle Gill (Billy’s father) with cutting grass, chopping wood — we have lots of memories out there at Dillon,” Bobby said. He also remembers his grandfather Joe’s retirement party in 1988 and the scores of co-workers and friends who attended.

Five men stand in front of a white Denver Water truck — Four generations of Joe Maynes' family have worked at Denver Water, including, from left, Darion Maynes, Bobby Padilla, Josh Martinez, Billy Martinez and Josiah Martinez. Bobby (second from left) and Billy (second from right) and are Joe’s grandsons; Darion, Josh and Josiah (far left, middle and far right) are great-grandsons. Photo credit: Denver Water.

As later generations grew up and started raising their own families, they realized that Grandpa Joe was right. Denver Water is a great place to work.

“It’s a great company. If it wasn’t a great company,” Bobby said, pointing to his nephews — the fourth generation to come to Denver Water, “the younger generation wouldn’t be here.”

Like their fathers before them, Denver Water is a big part of the childhood memories of Maynes’ great-grandsons.

Five men stand in front of a backhoe — From left: Josiah Martinez, Josh Martinez, Billy Martinez, Darion Maynes and Bobby Padilla. All five work in Transmission and Distribution. Photo credit: Denver Water.

“I remember my dad getting ready in the morning, putting his boots on, and I wanted to follow in his footsteps,” said Josiah, Billy’s son and a T&D utility senior tech who hired on in 2019.

Josiah’s brother, Josh, who started at Denver Water in 2023, agreed, remembering his dad scooting out of baseball games early to respond to an emergency water line repair.

“Without water, people couldn’t survive,” he said. “People take it for granted, but it’s so important, and we see that every day.”

Billy said their family is close, often getting together on weekends, where they end up talking about what went on at work during the week. His grandpa Joe, who died 15 years ago, would be proud of his family’s continued legacy at Denver Water, Billy said.

“When people ask me how long I’ve been here at Denver Water, I say 49 years,” Billy said. “My whole life.”

Five men stand in front of a Denver Water sign — Cousins and great-grandsons of Joe Maynes, pictured from left: Darion Maynes, Josh Martinez, and Josiah Martinez. On the right of the sign are cousins and Maynes’ grandsons Billy Martinez and Bobby Padilla. The group, all of whom work in Denver Water’s transmission and distribution group, comprises two of the four generations of Maynes family members who have worked at the utility. Photo credit: Denver Water.