William Wallace "Bill" Cunningham
Marriages
Joyce Allen - July 12, 1952
Obituaries
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 5B Death Notice - February 7, 2013
William Wallace “Bill” Cunningham, 88, Grand Junction,
died Feb. 4, 2013, at his home.
A memorial service will be held in the spring.
Mr. Cunningham was a cattle rancher.
Survivors include his wife, Joyce; one son, Greg of Meeker; two
daughters, Carolyn Litfin and Leslie Heikes, both of Centennial;
and six grandchildren.
Memorial contributions to Hospice & Palliative Care of Western
Colorado, 3090B North 12th Street, Grand Junction 81506.
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 3D - February 10, 2013
William "Bill" W. Cunnigham,
88, peacefully passed away at his
home in Grand Junction, CO on
F e b r u a r y 4 , 2 0 1 3 o f n a t u r a l
causes.
An only child, Bill was born on
Ma y 1 3 , 1 9 2 4 , t o K a t h e r i n e
(Turner-Jones) and Wallace Cunningham
in Denver. After a brief time in Iliff, CO, they moved to
the family ranch, north of Cisco, Utah in 1927. Bill was the th ird
generation to be on the Cisco ranch. When not in school, Bill s pent
time with the cowboys, following the cows as they wintered on t he
desert around Cisco and migrated up into the Bookcliffs for summer
grazing. Weaned calves would be trailed from the ranch headquar -
ters to the stockyards in Cisco where they'd board the train to Kansas
City. His life on the remote ranch taught him the value of hard
work, good people and family. A rain on the desert, grazing cattle in
the rims and "a horse watching a cow" were his greatest pleasur es
besides his family.
Boarding with family and friends, Bill attended school in Fruit a,
CO until going to Wasatch Academy in Mt. Pleasant, UT, where he
graduated from high school. He served in the Navy in the South Pacific
during WWII. Upon returning he attended Colorado State University
for two years before joining his parents on the ranch in Utah.
He married Joyce Allen from Eagle, CO on July 12, 1952. Joyce and
Bill had one son and two daughters, Greg, Carolyn and Leslie. T he
kids spent their summers with Bill, trailing cows to the mounta in,
packing salt, cutting trail and fixing fence. Learning from the ir father,
sharing time with the cowboys and making meals from a
sour-dough jug - they helped with the cattle operation. The fam ily
operation continued and their son, Greg joined Bill and Joyce i n
1973, full time and later Greg's wife Mary. In 1991, the Cisco ranch
was sold and the cattle operation moved to Kaycee, Wyoming with
Greg and Mary. Bill has lived in Grand Junction since then, remaining
involved in his children's lives, watching the cattle m arket
and staying abreast of the world affairs.
Of life, Bill often said, "All I ever wanted was good horses, good
cows, good dogs and lots of good country to run them in". A cow -
man and conservationist, he was a long-time advocate for grazing on
public lands, Bill served on the BLM Grazing Advisory Board in
Moab UT for 38 years, and also served on the Utah State Advisor y
Board and the National Public Lands Council. He was Area Director
and Vice-President of the Utah Cattlemen's Association for several
years. The American Society of Range Management, Utah Section
awarded him the Rancher of the Year in 1968, and he was
recognized as the Utah Cattleman of the Year in 1989. A fair, a ccepting
man, Bill knew no strangers and could tell a story with the
best. Bill has friends scattered from the seats of Ethel's Café in Cisco
and the rodeo grounds of Green River UT, to the streets of Denv er
and Salt Lake City and beyond.
He is survived by his wife, Joyce, of 60 years; Greg and Mary
Cunningham; Carolyn and Tony Litfin; Leslie and Dale Heikes, and
six grandchildren, Ben, Charlie (Cami) and Hannah Cunningham,
Kate and Will Litfin and Tanner Heikes. His love of the range an d
regard for his fellow man will be the lasting mark this true co wboy
leaves on his family and those that knew him.
A memorial service is planned for later in the spring. Contri butions
in Bill's memory can be made to Hospice and Palliative Ca re
of Western Colorado, 3090B North 12th St., Grand Junction, CO
81606.