Catherine Ann Lichliter

Catherine Ann Lichliter was born October 9, 1925 to Dorothy and Charlie Johnson in Cortez, Colorado. She passed away on December 14, 2018 at the age of 93.
Catherine was raised in Montezuma County her entire life with her brothers Bill and Cy Johnson and her sister Josephine Greenlee. She was raised on a ranch south of Cortez where they raised cattle and sheep. She went to the Blue Door School until they moved north of town where she continued her education at Mildred School and Cortez High School. In 1941 she married her true love, Roy Lichliter. Catherine and Roy had four children; Charlie, Linda, Danny and Allen. They raised their family north of Cortez on the farm where they lived until her passing. During these years, Catherine had many jobs in addition to being a mother and wife. She helped Roy all the years on the farm, she worked at a laundry mat, Hotel Cortez, and City Market. In 1963, she and Roy started a restaurant in Silverton Colorado called the Silverton Drive In. In the first 4 years it was operated out of a trailer and in 1967 they bought the building which became the Silverton Drive In until 1998. During the time Catherine owned the restaurant, she never met a stranger and treated everyone as her family. When the service boys would stop through, she would give them their meals free because she wanted them to have more money down the road. She also looked forward to her kids and grandkids coming to Silverton to visit, where she would cook them whatever they wanted and show them off to the town people in Silverton. Catherine started serving Thanksgiving Dinners for the miners that didn’t have families in Silverton in 1967. At first it was a small group of approximately 10 people. This grew significantly in 1972, as the Silverton Drive In became the bus stop and a place for the local town people to celebrate. This eventually grew to her serving over five hundred people on Thanksgiving Day free of charge. Not only did she serve Turkey, but Catherine served duck, pheasant, elk, deer antelope and every other kind of meat you can imagine. 1996 was the last year Catherine served Thanksgiving Dinner in Silverton. At this time they sold the restaurant so she could come back home due to Roy’s health. After she came home to Cortez, she lived her life enjoying her kids, grandkids, great grandkids and great-great grandkids and they can tell you great stories of the many times spent with her throughout her life. Until her death, Catherine lived an adventurous life where she traveled to California, Mexico, New Mexico and multiple other places. The last few years of her life, she looked forward to going to Thanksgiving dinner in Houston Texas, where she could go stick her feet in the sand at her new-found love, the beach.
She is survived by her daughter Linda and husband Dave Melton of Las Cruces, New Mexico, her son Allen and wife Cindy Lichliter of Cortez, Colorado and daughter in-law Judy Lichliter of Cortez, Colorado. She is also survived by eleven grandchildren, twenty six great grandchildren, 7 great-great grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her loving husband Roy, her sons Charlie and Danny, her parents and her brothers and sister.
Catherine’s passing will leave an emptiness in many people’s lives and she will be greatly missed, but her legacy and memories will carry on through all the people she has touched.
Memorial contributions can be made in Catherine’s name to the Montezuma County Senior Center, 107 North Chestnut, Cortez, CO 81321.