Thomas Allen “T.A.” Williams passed away August 6, 2023, at the home he built in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The family will host a viewing Thursday, August 10, 2023, between 5 – 7 pm at Shrine of Remembrance, 1730 East Fountain Boulevard, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80910. Funeral services will be held at Shrine of Remembrance, Friday, August 11, 2023 at 2 pm T.A. will be buried at Pikes Peak National Cemetery on Monday, August 14 at 10 am, 10545 Drennan Road, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80925.
Tommy was born in Colorado Springs on May 15, 1933, to Johnny Morris Williams and Jessie (Sherman) Williams. He was the third oldest of ten children in one of Colorado Springs’ original families. He grew up working alongside his father and brothers at J.M. Williams Livestock Hauling and attended Colorado Springs High School when he wasn’t delivering cattle and horses for ranchers throughout the country.
Tom was drafted during the Korean War and served in the U.S. Army as an artilleryman in the radar section of the 29th Field Artillery Battalion, 4th Infantry Division deployed to West Germany.
After completing his Army service, he returned to Colorado Springs and began a long career as a cattleman. T.A. frequented the cattle sales on the front range of Colorado clerking at the cattle auctions, trading cattle, and building his own herd over time. He bought a ranch in eastern El Paso County near Hanover that would serve as the base of his ranching operation. He leased summer pasture and ran cows across northern Colorado Springs on land that has now become the Colorado Springs neighborhoods of Briargate, Flying Horse, Kings Deer, The Farm, and Pine Creek.
During his life he owned and operated cattle ranches in Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska. His main ranch was always in Hanover and, other than a short adventure moving to Hawaii, he always made his home in Colorado Springs.
T.A. was a lifelong member of the Soil Savers social club and a frequent guest at the Pikes Peak Range Riders Layover Day. An avid reader, he maintained subscriptions to Colorado and national newspapers as well as numerous livestock and agricultural trade journals. Whenever he found an interesting article, he would rip it out and mail it to one of his children.
He was one of a kind, never met a stranger, and left a lasting impression on everyone he met. T.A. filled every room he was in with his larger-than-life personality, extremely sharp wit, and a complete disregard for political correctness; he was a Cowboy of a different breed and time that may never walk the earth again.
He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Consuelo Williams; children: Tabb Williams (Lisa), Nikki Garbo (John), Joni Johnson, Brandy Williams, Tom Williams (Danielle) and Travis Williams (Kelli); grandchildren: Steven Brown, Shay Brown, Cara Brown, Max Elliot, Grace Powell, Preston Kalkwarf, and Madison Kalkwarf; and great grandchildren: Amias Valdez and Wilder Powell.
Steven Petty
8 Aug 2023TA, You will be greatly missed by all, You were always friendly to me and my wife. You lived a great full life and always had kind words for all.. unless the were flat out wrong. Then you would set them straight. RIP Tom. Steven and Laurie Petty
Brenda Vawter
9 Aug 2023Tom, you went out with your boots on! Prayers for the family to remain strong.
Claudiano Gallegos
9 Aug 2023Were are truly sorry for your lost. He was a kind person
Glad to have met him
We extend our sympathy to all the family God 🙌 bless
Anonymous
10 Aug 2023I have never forgotten rounding up cattle with Tabb, TA and others. I have told everyone that I used to do it on the land Briargate sits on. TA was always such a nice person to me and I am sure he will be greatly missed. My thoughts are with his family.
Karen Maldonado Klein
Joni
10 Aug 2023When I was six years old, I drove a standard ship pick up with a 2 x 4 block bailing wired to my foot so I could reach the pedals. I was always in granny gear, trying not to get stuck in the deep snow. My dad and brother Tabb picked a side and threw out flakes of hay for the cattle.
That was the beginning of life with my dad… The Cowboy Way!
Dad was a very smart, funny, hard-working man, with a firm hand. He was also very loving and supportive in every way I needed him to be. He was a great businessman, and it showed in all that he undertook. He taught me so very many things, one of which was to be a great horse trader, and I can horse trade with the best of them! I will never be the same without him and his kind words of encouragement and advice.
Dad, don’t worry,…. “I’ll get the damn gate for you.”
All my love, and all my heart!
I will miss you till we see each other again.
You’re loving daughter,
Joni
Nikki Garbo
11 Aug 2023T.A. was our Dad. Tabb, Joni and I were Dad’s first Ranch Hands. Mom was the Range Boss and she worked even harder than we did. We were so broke then, we couldn’t even afford horses. So, at the age of five, seven and eight, we were the “gates” and the “cowboys”.
We were so excited when Dad would bring a horse home from the sale barn to try out. If Tabb survived, and it would fractionally stop and go when when commanded, we would keep it!
They really did “Break the Mold” when Dad landed in small town Colorado Springs and he personified the Cowboy Way. He was a prodigious storyteller, with wit and humor that was in a league of its own.
Recently, I asked him to repeat one of my favorite stories, which was about one of his favorite creatures, the mule. Sometime after World War II, the US Army modernized, swapping their mules for the more exalted and “reliable” vehicle, the Jeep. In order to expedite this change, the Army needed a way to transport hundreds of mules from Fort Carson to the local sale barn, 20 miles away.
JM Williams Trucking acquired this wondrous contract. The best part was, the agreement did not stipulate exactly how the mules would be moved, only that they arrive at the auction at a certain date. Dad was in his mid-teens and was Grandpa’s go-to guy.
My Grandpa Johnny was known throughout the Springs for his business acumen and an array of kids big enough to ride a horse. Admittedly, a few were actually big enough, if not technically old enough, to indeed drive a truck, but that wasn’t the plan. In order to drive all of those mules, all of those miles, his trucks would use gasoline and cause wear and tear to his tires. No, Grandpa determined the perfect plan. In order to save valuable resources, namely his trucks, he would utilize his other assets, namely Dad and his brothers. He informed Dad and the troops that they truly would drive all of the mules to the auction, just not on a truck.
Grandpa’s plan was to drive them out of the base, over the fields and through Colorado Springs neighborhoods. And everyone would ride a horse.
So the next morning, before dawn, everyone arrived and drove the mules through Colorado Springs. Dad said driving mules was faster than driving cattle, but a lot more difficult. Mules are very smart and independent, not like horses at all! He and his motley crew drove those mules almost 20 miles to the auction. It took them until dusk and Dad said he didn’t even get a lunch break! He finished his story with the observation that both he and his horse
looked like hell when they were finally finished.
I asked him, a little anxiously I admit, if the mules had all gone to the “killers” . If you were a killer horse or mule, you weren’t vicious, you were made into dog food. He said no, lots of farmers still used mules and they were all safe. Most were bought to be used as pack mules or for pulling wagons and farm equipment.
I knew Dad was genuinely happy about that, even 70 years after the auction.
I used the mule story because the only time I ever saw him tear up was when he talked about his own mule “Adolf”, a childhood pet of his. Somehow, his precious mule had been hit by a train and killed. Adolf had been gone for 20 years when he told me that story as a 5 year old girl and he was still grieving about it.
He had a little cast iron mule bank that all of us kids loved. He would give us pennies to put in it. He was a kind man, not perfect because he was human, but kind and generous with his love.
If you are truly interested in how Dad lived, read Little Britches by Ralph Moody. It is a true story about a boy who grows up in the early 20th century in the foothills of Colorado. Dad loved that book and identified with everything described in its pages and in the future series. The hero of the book herded cows in Castle Rock and participated in Rodeos in Littleton. Dad had done all of these things and more, uncountable adventures that he regaled us with whenever we saw each other.
In lieu of flowers, which Dad thought we’re a waste, Tabb, Joni and I will donate to a Horse Rescue there in Colorado. He kept his prized horse “Peaka” out in the pasture until he died of old age. He had the company of Yellow Mare, where they retired to the grass and the water tank under the windmill.
I know my dad is right out there with them, his leather gloves in his back pocket, cowboy boot on the fence, with his hat shading his eyes. We miss you Dad, but knowing you are the good Lord’s Trail Boss, we know you are once again free to do what you really love. I know we missed a few stories, but you can tell us those when we see you again.
Preston
11 Aug 2023To My grandpa Tommy I will miss you , from memory as a kid have great memories of you wish we could have spent more time together .
Love your grandson
Preston
Madison Kalkwarf
11 Aug 2023Grandpa TA,
You were always such a character and we were all lucky to know you. Much love and miss you.
Ken Rivera
17 Aug 2023You were a mentor to many, Tom, and I will miss you. I missed a lot because I only got to know you late in life. It is fun reading the memories here. I sense the smiles on their faces when they share their memories of all the good you did. Good men are hard to find! Thanks for being one of them. You leave behind a wonderful family that will carry on your legacy. I am sure you are now enjoying the Red River Valley in heaven. Tell me, is it more excellent than the one I know? I am guessing there is no comparison, right? Thanks, Tom!