Roy W. Lilley
“Just As I Am” a unique memoir by Roy W. Lilley is now available online through Amazon Books. In his introduction Chuck Schroeder, a cattle industry leader and the CEO of both the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, wrote “This is the story of an uncommon man whose character was formed in challenging times and exercised through the twisting trails of his life.”
Lilley was born in Fort Collins and lived the first ten years of his life on the Table Mountain Ranch in Virginia Dale, Colorado. He graduated from Cache La Poudre High school in Laporte in 1948 and Colorado State University in 1952.
He served as a Supply Sergeant in a field artillery unit during the Korean War. In 1954, Lilley was discharged from the army and followed the professional rodeo circuit for two years. In 1956, he began a 45 year career with the Cattle Association, when he was hired as Assistant Executive Secretary of the American National Cattlemen’s Association (predecessor to the NCBA). He began his career working with men who founded the organization and by its end eventually became their mentor.
Lilley concluded his livestock career after seventeen years with the Nebraska Cattlemen, Inc. headquartered in Lincoln. The road from his first job in Denver to the happy ending in Lincoln was not a smooth one either professionally or personally. His native optimism and a willingness to take risks helped to further the goals of the organizations he served.
After retirement, Lilley and his wife Donice have lived in the Fort Collins area for the past ten years. Lilley may be reached at 970-568-4212 or at email him at tripa123@ gmail.com .