Grady Myers wasn't like other artists.

"You hear about artists that have complexes and can be extremely difficult," said Dave O'Brien. "Well, Grady was the complete opposite."

O'Brien, operations team leader for the Idaho Panhandle National Forests, worked with Myers while he created nearly 50 interpretive historical signs along the Hiawatha Trail. He also made artwork for the Pulaski Tunnel Trail, as well as a sign that's about to be installed in the Priest Lake area.

Myers, who had battled various medical issues for years, died July 30 at age 61.

He was born in New Mexico to an Air Force family that eventually settled in Boise. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and was awarded the Purple Heart for injuries he sustained. He studied art at Boise State College and became a newspaper artist in the Spokane area. While working with O'Brien, his title was graphic information specialist for the Idaho Panhandle National Forests.

"Grady was a big man and he was just as gentle a giant as you'd ever know," O'Brien said.

Although he often felt ill, he wouldn't admit to it.

One day, O'Brien recalled, Myers didn't come to work. He and another co-worker went to his home, stood outside and called him on the phone. To their surprise, he picked up and let them in.

He was nearly bedridden, O'Brien said.

After this incident, they arranged for him to have a disability retirement but still work on a contract basis.

O'Brien visited him twice a week while he was in a local nursing home.

"I just couldn't let go of him," he said. "He was such a deserving guy."

The historical panels Myers created using computer software described the history of the railroad, the 1910 fire and other interesting tidbits along the way. His work on the Hiawatha was done in the late 1990s, and art on the Pulaski Tunnel Trail was complete in 2005.

Kent Wellner, Forest Service program manager, said Myers was sharp and talented.

"He made really, really neat artwork," he said. "It's one of the primary features of the trail."

Wellner said the trails are fun because of the scenery, but even if they only read a portion of those signs, you get a real sense of the history.

"To me, it doubles the whole Hiawatha Trail and communicates some of the things going on out there," he said.