Raymond Allen "Allen" Pyle

Raymond Allen Pyle was born in Sterling, Colorado, on April 15, 1940 to Hazel (Burney) and Raymond James Pyle.  The second of 5 children, Allen grew up on the family farm in Iliff but set his sights beyond the Colorado prairie horizons.  While still in high school, he opened a Denver newspaper to the Help Wanted Ads, circled the highest paying jobs listed, and chose his future career according to one field he circled:  accounting.

When Allen was 18, he married the love of his life, Ann Marie Hiler.  As Buddy Holly, one of Allen's favorite singers, would say, theirs was a “love so rare and true.” Allen and Ann were married for 66 years and have 4 daughters together: Kelly Hesse, Tori Teague (Tina), Mindy Lewakowski (Robert), and Katie Prestwich (David).

During his early years as a young father, Allen had to learn to “shake the nickel bush," in the words of one of his favorite authors, Ralph Moody.  After graduating from Iliff High School, Allen worked several jobs, including as a newspaper archivist and bookkeeper, while putting himself through college at the University of Denver.  He graduated college in 1966 with a bachelors degree in accounting and worked as a CPA for several accounting firms.

Allen eventually established his own firm, Pyle and Associates, Certified Public Accountants, that served many agricultural clients.  When driving past cattle yards, the air thick with the smell of hydrogen sulfide, he would turn to his children or grandchildren with a grin and declare, “That's the smell of money.”  Allen was highly regarded in the agricultural accounting field, and he was recruited to serve as CFO for several major corporations.  Later in his accounting career, he operated a truck leasing company and a roofing company.  For his entire life, he was a model to his children and grandchildren of how to set goals, work hard, and achieve your dreams. As a competent businessman, Allen created a lifestyle most can only imagine.  He owned several different homes with land and assets.  He enjoyed boating and taking his family out on the lake.  He earned his private pilot's license and owned and operated his own aircraft.  He and Ann enjoyed going on cruises with family members, especially to the Caribbean and other tropical destinations.  Generous to a fault, Allen loaned and gifted money to friends and family in need his entire life. Regardless of his successes, Allen remained humble and kind.  If a waiter or waitress got his order wrong at a restaurant, he refused to make a fuss or send it back to be fixed.  If he saw people in need, he figured out how to quietly serve them whether it was doing their taxes, gifting them a car, or donating to their charitable causes.  Even though Allen achieved his dream of a life beyond the family farm, he never lost connection to his prairie roots.  Through much of his adult life, Allen kept horses, participated in rodeo events, taught his daughters and grandchildren how to handle horses, and farmed alfalfa in Brush, Colorado.  He was head of the Logan County Rodeo Queen contest for several years.

Allen's other hobbies included attending professional sports games and cheering on the Colorado Rockies and Denver Nuggets.  He was a proficient tennis player, an avid bicyclist, and a beloved family cook. He enjoyed adventures like hiking down the Grand Canyon, which he did in 2008 with his younger sisters, Donna Pyle, Marla (Niemeir), and Shirley (Davis).

Known to his grandchildren as Grandpa, Grandpa Pyle, and Paca, Allen always kept a candy dispenser of M&Ms full for the grandchildren and great grandchildren.  He walked his oldest granddaughter down the aisle for her wedding.  Two of his grandsons carry his name.  He never pressured his grandchildren to choose prestigious careers or any personal path other than one of honor and responsibility.  He always told his grandchildren that he was proud of them and that he loved them.

Allen passed away peacefully on Wednesday, November 20th, 2024, beside his wife and oldest grandson.  He was preceded in death by his parents and his older brother, Robert.  He is survived by his wife, his daughters, 18 grandchildren, 9 great-grandchildren, and his 3 sisters.

His family members plan to spread his ashes in Eastern Colorado, returning him to the land that raised him up and called him to embark on his own courageous exodus into a life he dreamed of, a life that inspired many of his family members to live with that same courage.  Death is a thief of all but our memories.