After Death Of Patriarch Of The Irma Hotel, Sons Vow To Keep Father's Legacy Alive

John Darby, who owned the Irma Hotel in Cody for more than 35 years, died on Aug. 26, at age 94.

For today’s Cody residents, Darby was as synonymous with the Irma Hotel as its founder, William “Buffalo Bill” Cody. He kept the Irma's historical ambiance and western spirit alive for millions of tourists and dedicated locals.

Mike and Scott Darby, John’s sons, intend to keep their father’s spirit alive by ensuring the Irma stays much the same.

“The Irma was his life,” Mike Darby told Cowboy State Daily. “It was everything to him, and we’re going to carry it forward while maintaining its Western heritage as much as we can.”

Cody Company Man

John Darby was one of Cody’s prominent business owners for decades. The Irma was his pride and joy, but he had stakes in many of the town’s most iconic properties at one time or another.

“He owned Cassie’s until he sold it to Mel and Steve Singer in 1995,” Mike said. “He owned the Cody Motor Lodge around the same time and bought the Silver Dollar Bar in 2000.”

Today, the Darby family owns the patio portion of the Silver Dollar, the entire Irma Hotel, and several adjacent buildings. But it was the Irma, according to Mike, that his father loved most.

“Some people have hobbies. He had the Irma Hotel,” he said.

Enhancing History

The Irma Hotel has changed hands multiple times since Buffalo Bill Cody opened it in November 1902. Cody himself handed the deed over to his wife, Louisa, in 1913 to avoid losing it during one of his many financial crises.

That means the Darby family has owned the Irma for much longer than the Codys. But, if anything, John made “The World’s Greatest Showman” more present than ever during his three-decade tenure.

“You should do three things: Advertise Buffalo Bill, Buffalo Bill and Buffalo Bill," he said in a 2008 interview. “We run (the Irma) the way that Buffalo Bill ran it. He got along with everybody."

John got involved with the Irma in 1982, saying he traded his ranch in Greybull for a stake in the hotel, before becoming the sole owner in 1989. He spent the next 30 years doing what could be done to improve the property while retaining its allure.

“It’s an ongoing process,” Mike said. “We repaired a lot of windows, overhauled the heating and air-conditioning systems, the electrical wiring, and massive amounts of plumbing in those years.

When original infrastructure could be kept, it was. John pointed out that the original steam pipes in the hotel’s walls, which provided central heating when the hotel opened, were still intact in 2022.

“They do work,” Darby told the Cody Enterprise. “They do make noise.”

Aside from some modern technological innovations like flat screens and POS systems, the Irma under John’s ownership remained largely the same as when he purchased it, which was largely as it was when Buffalo Bill opened it.

That, Mike said, was deliberate rather than accidental or even economically prudent (although that was important, too). Even projects like repainting the exterior and redoing the wallpaper were done in the spirit of keeping the Irma as it was.

“Dad took pride in it and tried to do his best to take care of the Irma for the people in the town of Cody,” Mike said.

A Cody Character

Mike knows his father will be remembered for the man he was. He was already hard to forget when he was alive. 

John Darby was a regular in the bar and dining room of the Irma, where he didn’t shy away from being himself and expressing himself.

“I think his legacy will be the character-type stories,” Mike said. “He might have been a little coarse, but he always enjoyed people.”

Mike recalled one of his father’s “coarse” moments in the Irma’s dining room. As the owner, Darby took pride in overseeing the nightly prime rib buffet. That came with the perk of, quite literally, poking fun at some of his guests and patrons.

“There was a fellow with quite a rotund figure who wanted more prime rib,” he said. “He poked that fellow in the stomach once and said, ‘I think you've had enough.’

Many people had different opinions on John, but nobody would say he didn’t give his all to the Irma. Mike recalled his father’s relentless work effort.

“He was here seven days a week, as long as he was able to,” he said. “He'd be here at 7 a.m., go home and take a nap, then come back at 5 o'clock and have a cocktail or two. He never traveled or did much of anything. He was always at the Irma.”

Mike said he believes many of the hundreds of employees who came and went from the Irma would remember John fondly. For as gruff and insensitive as he appeared, he was also generous to people who needed a boost.

“He always took care of people,” Mike said. “If someone needed something, he'd always make sure they had something to get them by, whether it was a few bucks, a meal, or a place to stay at night.”

John grew up in Colorado before relocating to Cody to find a lifestyle that suited him. He recalled seeing the same sentiment in “a big shot” who rolled into the Irma.

“He said the reason he loves Cody was that it reminds him of the town he grew up in,” he said. “Well, that's the same for me.”

Holding On And Moving On

After the Irma temporarily closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, John became less present. That’s when his sons stepped up to keep the family business and hotel going.

“I wasn't involved in hospitality whatsoever when I stepped up,” Mike said. “I knew how to raise cattle and crops, but I started assuming different roles just prior to COVID. Dad would come in for a cocktail, and that was it.”

John could be just as gruff with family as with patrons. Mike acknowledged that it took some time to earn his father’s trust at the helm of the Irma.

“He grumbled about pretty much everything we did,” he said. “It always cost too much, or it should have been done this way or this way. But at the end of the day, he always liked what we did. It was just his way about being a little rough around the edges.”

Now that John has passed on, Mike doesn’t see a better way of honoring his legacy than to continue maintaining the Irma as the historic structure it is.

“It’s always an ongoing thing,” he said. “We're repairing and rehabbing things that we did 30 years ago. It’s an old building, but you just keep going.”

That means the Irma will look much the same for the next 30 years as it does today. There will be improvements and upgrades, but most will be where guests and first-time visitors would never think to look.

Make Them Do It Right

The authenticity of the Irma matters to tourists and locals, just as it mattered to John.

“You're always evolving a little bit, whether it's food or rooms or whatnot, but we strive to maintain as much of that Western heritage as we can,” Mike said. “That’s the Irma, and that was everything to him.”

Mike said his father will be buried with his ancestors at a family cemetery in Longmont, Colorado. A celebration of life will take place at the Irma Hotel at 2 p.m. Oct. 17.

If John had something he wanted the world to know about the Irma Hotel, his time as its owner, and its future, Mike said he thinks it’d be genuine and to the point.

“He'd say, ‘Come on in, we'll take care of you, enjoy our town and our lifestyle,” Mike said. “He loved the western lifestyle, and he always strove to let people enjoy and live it, too.”

When asked about his legacy as a Cody businessman, John had a simple response.

“My credit’s good,” he said.

And, for as much as he strove to preserve the Irma, John was also pragmatic enough to recognize that change can be difficult, but it’s always inevitable. It’s the philosophy that Mike and Scott will carry into the future.

"You can't stop it,” he said. “You can only make them do it right.”

Contact Andrew Rossi at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com

Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.