Allen Lee Lichliter

Allen was born July 14, 1953 in Cortez the son of Roy Allen and Catherine Anne (Johnson) Lichliter. He passed away on Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at Mercy Regional Medical Center at the age of 67.
Allen was the youngest of four children and was lucky to grow up with some mischievous brothers who picked on their oldest sister. He attended Mildred school and graduated from Montezuma Cortez High School in 1971 and one of his famous stories was how he rode his horse to school. He was full of life, even at a young age, always playing jokes on people and making them smile and if you don’t believe it, ask Marti Spitzer about riding the bus. During his school years, he met some of his lifelong friends that he still has today. He went on to attend Fort Lewis College, where he and Steve Suckla majored in and were the salutatorian and valedictorian of pitch and pool. Allen met the love his life, Cindy, in 1974 at the Fireman’s Ball where the greatest love story started. They were married on June 20th, 1975 in Farmington New Mexico and have four kids, Jerrod, Kevin, Laci, and Royanne that are their life.
From a young age, rodeo was a huge part of Allen’s life, starting with his love for riding bulls and then carrying on his knowledge and skills through taking his four kids to many rodeos. Allen wanted to teach his kids how to rope, so Kevin Johnson taught him and loaned him his first horse to rope on. In addition, Allen showed his love for rodeo by putting on numerous junior rodeos, high school rodeos, and starting the Bob Banks Memorial rodeo. Allen and Cindy were the high school rodeo sponsor for numerous years, where he has left his mark.
Allen went to work for Superior Oil, which later became Mobil Oil and then Exxon Mobil Oil where he retired at the age of 55. He tried to retire for about a year, but as many know, Allen loved to work and he went back to consulting where he continued to share his knowledge and experience with his crews and many co-workers. During his work years, Allen met many lifelong friends and touched the lives of all who crossed his path.
One of Allen’s favorite things to tell his kids was, if I knew how great it was to have grandkids, I would have skipped the kids. He was blessed to have 12 grandchildren and one great grandchild, Savannah, Nicole, Aspen, Austin, Alyssa, Brenn, Shantel, Allie, Landon, Kendall, Halee, Lexi, and Tessa. He loved each of them beyond measure.
Allen and Cindy had many adventures in their life, with one of their favorites being traveling to Maui.
It is hard to end the story, as we could go on and on with how many amazing memories this man created. In his legacy, he has taught each one of us how to love life!
Surviving Allen are his loving wife, Cindy Lichliter of Cortez; his children, Jerrod Simmons (Brandee) of Dolores, Kevin Simmons (Kari) of Farmington, N.M., Laci Kibel of Cortez, and Royanne Lichliter (Micah Adams) of Dickinson, Tex.; by his sister, Linda Melton (Dave) of Las Cruces, N.M.; by 12 grandchildren and one great-grandchild; and by his sister-in-law, Judy Lichliter of Cortez; numerous nieces and nephews; and an abundance of friends. Allen was preceded in death by his parents; and by his siblings, Charlie Lichliter and Danny Lichliter.