Clifford Mosier

“Make Good Decisions!”

Clifford Ronald Mosier was born in Denver on March 5, 1936, passing away April 30, 2021, at the age of 85. He was the firstborn of Reginald “Rex” March Mosier and Geraldine “Billie” Berryhill Mosier. His sister Cynthia Buenger lives in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and his younger brother Richard Mosier lives in Lakewood, Colorado. He is survived by his wife, Lavone Kay, and his five children: Christopher (Cheryl), Michael (Gretchen), Timothy, Jonathan (Debbie), and Amy (Greg). He also has seven grandchildren: Nicole Mosier Rogers (Chris), Megan Mosier DeCenzo (Vin), Sean Mosier, PFC Alexander White, Jake Mosier, Ryan Mosier, and Josephine White, honorary grandchildren: Adison, Sophia, and Claire Mackintosh, and one great-grandchild: Elizabeth Kay DeCenzo. He is preceded in death by his parents, as well as an infant daughter, Valerie Kay Mosier (1960).

Cliff spent his youth in the Denver area, graduating from Bear Creek High School in 1954. By the time he graduated high school he had already become smitten with the adorable Iowa farm girl, Kay Sickels, and they fell in love for a lifetime. Cliff attended the University of Colorado in Boulder, completing much of his Engineering degree before marrying Kay. They married on June 14, 1958, at the First Christian Church in Mount Ayr, Iowa. They had the honor of celebrating their 62nd anniversary surrounded by family and friends.

Soon after marriage, Cliff was drafted into the US Army and served 2 years as a Public Information Officer at Fort Eustis, Virginia, writing press releases and sending news to the enlisted men’s hometown newspapers.

After his military service, Cliff and Kay settled into their new home in south Denver, where they had their first three sons, Christopher, Michael, and Timothy. They wanted to build their own house out in the country, so they found a beautiful piece of land in Deer Creek Canyon southwest of Denver. Cliff built their home with his own two hands, and it is the family home to this day. This home has been the meeting place for hundreds of family parties, gatherings, and celebrations, as well as the origin of the annual Rib-Off (which Cliff made trophies for), a tradition that continues on in his honor.

After moving into the Deer Creek Canyon home, Cliff and Kay had two more children, Jonathan, and Amy. He and Kay joined Saint Philip Lutheran Church in Littleton in 1975 and have been active members ever since.

Professionally, Cliff worked for the Robinson Brick Company for 35 years, advancing eventually to the Plant 1 Superintendent. He was well respected as a manager, and as a boss would never ask his people to do any task that he would not do himself, even if it meant suiting up and going into an active brick oven to clear a blockage in the production line.

In his leisure time, Cliff was usually fishing, hunting, coaching, or making things in his home woodshop. Cliff and Kay’s home, as well as his kids’ homes, are full of furniture, bookcases, and knick-knacks that Cliff made with his own two hands. Every Christmas was an exciting time waiting to see what Cliff made for each of his kids’ families that year.

Cliff was an avid little league football coach. He believed that learning to work hard as a team from a young age fostered excellent character in children. He coached 8 teams to Carnation Bowl wins and 6 teams to Colorado Championships. He went on to be an assistant coach at Chatfield High School 1997-99 and Columbine High School, where he helped win a State Championship with the 2000 team (including many of his little league players).

He was even generous with his blood - over the years Cliff gave 27 gallons of blood to Bonfils Blood Bank.

Cliff was an active member of the Westwood Lions Club, following along in his father’s footsteps. His years of cooking Rocky Mountain Oysters for club fundraisers are legendary. He most recently served on the Board of Directors as Treasurer, and was an integral part of initiating and coordinating the KidSight program, screening thousands of preschoolers and kindergarteners in the Denver area. Clifford was passionate about helping children, and it gave him great joy to be able to help these kids.

Cliff set the ultimate example of how to be a great husband, a great father, a great mentor, and a great friend. He influenced so many over the years to approach life with care, honor, honesty, enthusiasm, joy, and a sense of adventure.  Anyone that has been greeted with one of his bear hugs knows it. Anyone that came to a family costume party knows it. And all of us have the one most important take-away from Cliff which was his usual farewell – “make good decisions.”

In lieu of flowers, please donate in Clifford’s name to Colorado Lions KidSight Program at https://www.coloradogives.org/kidsightcolorado/overview

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