Don Goe may hold the honor of the longest continuous relationship with Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church.  He began attending Sunday School at Montview in 1936, and he joined six years later. But that is getting ahead of his life’s journey. Don’s family has deep roots in Colorado; his mother’s grandparents homesteaded in the Fort Collins area in 1878.  Don is a 4^th-generation Coloradoan but he broke with family tradition in that he did not go into ranching or farming.

Don, the third of three boys, was born on a sheep ranch outside Sheridan, Wyo., where his father was the resident manager.  Don’s family moved six times while he was in elementary school, as his father led a reclamation project for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. When he was 11 years old, Don’s mother passed away and his family moved to Denver.  A paternal aunt moved in to help rear the boys. That is when Don began attending Montview’s Sunday School. 

When Don was a teenager, his father moved to Washington, D.C., to complete the reclamation project. Soon he was appointed an under-secretary of the Department of Agriculture.  Don attended Park Hill Elementary, Smiley Junior High and East High School, but he remembers some hard years growing up with only occasional visits from his dad.  Don’s older brother, Bill, returned from fighting in the Pacific in World War II, and he urged Don to complete his Education Degree at Denver University. That, he said, changed his life.

As a high school student, Don worked for Park Hill Methodist Church, supervising the gym’s opening and closing.  One weekend, he decided to attend a dance there and he met Fran.  Don tells the story that he “chased” Fran for five years before they married. In that period, Don attended the University of Colorado and DU, and he joined the Colorado Air Guard and later the Air Force. He left college when his unit was called up for the Korean War.  He returned two years later, married Fran and resumed his college education while continuing in the Air Force Reserve.  The Guard offered him a commission, and he served 22 years.

While student teaching at Gove Junior High, Don discovered that he enjoyed the challenge of teaching early teens. He got a full-time job there and taught for 14 years and worked as an assistant principal for two years. Don became president of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association, but got called to active duty four months later. When he returned, he worked at Gove and on the board of the Colorado Education Association.  He was part of the first team of teachers to negotiate a contract with the Denver Public Schools.  Their goal was to make the negotiation process non-adversarial, and that became the topic of his doctoral dissertation.

While working on a doctorate at the University of Northern Colorado, Don took a sabbatical. With his Ph.D. in hand, he returned to DPS as a coordinator of instruction. Once again, he got called to active duty.

After returning, he was hired by Cherry Creek Schools as the assistant principal of Cherry Creek High School and, later, the district’s deputy superintendent for 16 years.  After retiring, Don served for eight years on the Cherry Creek School Board and became the board’s president. 

Given his experience working with classroom teachers, Don was asked to supervise student teachers from Metro and Colorado State University, a position he continued in for 15 years – until he was nearly 80 years old.

Don and Fran reared five children, stayed active in the Montview community, traveled together, spent time with family and friends, shared the Rotary District Governor’s role in all of Northeastern Colorado, and actively enjoyed Colorado.  They were married 57 years before Fran passed away 10 years ago. 

A corner of Montview’s South Campus, known as the Alpine Garden, has a bench dedicated to Fran, who is interred in the Columbarium.  Their children are: Ken, who covers sports for the Portland Oregonian; Karen, who lives in Grand Junction and teaches general and special education; Laurie, who is the director of Washington state’s Hazardous Waste Department; Dan, who is the marketing director of the tech company Oracle; and John, who teaches art at Manual High School.

During his 78 years as a member of Montview Church, Don has been asked to serve on the Session five times, has chaired practically every committee and, for 13 years, was the president of the Board of Managers for Montview Manor. Along with Bob Matchett, Don can answer almost any question about Montview’s past. 

In 2013, Don moved to Clermont Place near University Hills.  He teaches classes to the residents on Colorado history and U.S. history, and he participates in musicals under the leadership of Montview’s former music director, Jerry McCollum.

Don commented on Montview’s importance in his life: “The congregation at Montview lives a community- based Christian life while being active in local, regional and national affairs intellectually, politically and socially.  It was important for our family to share those activities and values.”

– Submitted by Brooke Durland