{"id":91116,"date":"2020-05-20T00:13:12","date_gmt":"2020-05-20T00:13:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/cy-scarborough-co-founder-of-bar-d-chuckwagon-dies-at-93\/"},"modified":"2020-05-20T00:13:12","modified_gmt":"2020-05-20T00:13:12","slug":"cy-scarborough-co-founder-of-bar-d-chuckwagon-dies-at-93","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/cy-scarborough-co-founder-of-bar-d-chuckwagon-dies-at-93\/","title":{"rendered":"Cy Scarborough, co-founder of Bar D Chuckwagon, dies at 93"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Cy
Cy Scarborough, center, co-founder of the Bar D Chuckwagon, tells a story before playing a song with the Bar D Wranglers in 2017. Scarborough, 93, died Monday from natural causes complicated by underlying health conditions.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Cy C. Scarborough, a businessman, comedian and entertainer who performed for millions of guests at Durango\u2019s iconic Bar D Chuckwagon, died Monday of natural causes complicated by underlying health conditions, his family said.<\/p>\n

He was 93.<\/p>\n

Friends and family remembered Scarborough as a Durango icon with a big heart, big smile and enduring sense of humor.<\/p>\n

Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Owner Al Harper said Scarborough became one of his closest friends when Harper moved to town about 24 years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe went out of his way to come to the railroad to meet me and introduce himself, just telling me how much he loved the railroad, and he wanted to be my friend,\u201d he said. \u201cAnything I needed to establish in the community, he was there for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harper said Scarborough was an \u201cicon, a tremendous asset for this community,\u201d and if there\u2019s one thing he will remember him for it\u2019s Scarborough\u2019s big heart \u2013 and that he could entertain an audience like nobody\u2019s business.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was kind to everybody. I never ever heard him say a bad word about anybody or anything,\u201d Harper said. \u201cHe always had a smile and something good to say, and that\u2019s a rare commodity. But then after that, what an entertainer! He just grabbed an audience \u2013 this is one of Durango\u2019s greatest losses in a long time. He\u2019s just a terrific guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cy
Cy Scarborough, center, tells a story before playing a song with the Bar D Wranglers in 2017. Scarborough, 93, died Monday from natural causes complicated by underlying health conditions.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Cy
Cy Scarborough, center, co-founder of the Bar D Chuckwagon.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Scarborough was born Jan. 12, 1927, in Horatio, Arkansas, to Maude and Wilbur Scarborough. He moved to Colorado Springs in 1946 after serving in the U.S. Army and marrying his \u201chometown sweetheart,\u201d Charlotte Averitt. They were divorced in 1958.<\/p>\n

In 1965, he married Mary Naranjo, and when that marriage ended, he married Jeanne Mayer in the late 1970s.<\/p>\n

Scarborough moved to Durango in 1969 after entertaining at the Flying W Chuckwagon for 25 years. He, along with Jim Blanton and Roy \u201cBuck\u201d Teeter, founded the Bar D Chuckwagon Suppers north of Durango that opened in 1969 and continues to operate today, drawing tourists from around the world.<\/p>\n

Scarborough said in a 2018 interview celebrating the Bar D\u2019s 50th summer season that the idea of the Bar D was based on the traditional cowboy chuckwagons.<\/p>\n

\u201cA chuckwagon followed the trail ride with the chuck on it \u2013 with all the food,\u201d he said. \u201cThe chuckwagon would meet up with the trail drivers where the cows were every night, and they would have dinner, and the next morning, they would have breakfast and take on off with the cows.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scarborough stopped entertaining for the summer shows of the Bar D Wranglers in about 2010, but he made guest appearances on numerous occasions performing comedy tunes through 2019. He retired from managing the Bar D the same year.<\/p>\n

Scarborough was preceded in death by his ex-wife, Charlotte Scarborough, and son, Michael Scarborough.<\/p>\n

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