Harold “Hal” Littrell, a longtime Colorado Springs banker who played a key role in bringing the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame to Colorado Springs, died Oct. 8 of complications from COVID-19. He was 90.
Littrell was born March 31, 1931 in Lubbock, Texas, and moved to Colorado Springs with his parents, who ran a small grocery store east of downtown, in 1948 during his junior year of high school and graduated from Colorado Springs (now Palmer) High School, where he played baseball, basketball and football. He served four years in the Air Force during the Korean War, working as a radio operator in the air rescue service in Japan.
While in the Air Force, he met his future wife, Edna, on a blind date and they were married six months later in San Antonio in 1954, said their son, Garth Littrell. She died Oct. 11, also of complications of COVID-19 at age 86.
Weeks after the marriage, Littrell took a job as a teller trainee at the Exchange National Bank (now the downtown office of U.S. Bank) after completing an interview with CEO Jasper Ackerman and bank board members, Garth Littrell said. To make ends meet, Hal also worked at Rocky Mountain Greyhound Park and painted houses with his father.
Ackerman took a liking to Hal, looking on him as the son he never had and mentoring him, Garth Littrell said. Hal worked in nearly every operation of the bank during his 31-year career, being promoted to vice president, senior vice president, executive vice president, president, CEO and chairman before retiring in 1986, when he bought Air Academy National Bank (now Academy Bank) and became president, CEO and chairman of that bank. He sold the bank 10 years later to Dickinson Financial but remained as chairman and continued to come to the office on a regular basis until 2014, Garth Littrell said.
Hal’s involvement in rodeo began when Ackerman asked him he knew anything about rodeo. Hal replied that he had been to a rodeo, so Ackerman had him volunteer to sell tickets to the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo from a tiny shelter at Cascade and Pikes Peak avenues. He would become the secretary-treasurer of the rodeo, serving on its financing committee for more than 40 years and later elected chairman of its board.
“Hal had as much impact on this community as anyone I can think of during his lifetime,” said Rob Alexander, CEO of Stockmens Bank and a longtime friend. “He was a longtime board member and treasurer of the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo, but he also served as president and was chairman of the Rodeo Foundation. He was honored with Lifetime Chairman status when he retired from the Rodeo. In the early 1990s, the Pikes Peak Range Riders made him an Honorary Member for a number of years.”
Hal played a major role in convincing the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association to move from Denver to Colorado Springs in 1979 and build its Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy here. Hal provided financial supporting to many projects at Hall of Fame and the group named a meeting hall there the Hal Littrell World Champions Pavilion and inducted him into the hall in 2012.
“He did a lot of wonderful things to help Colorado Springs. Some may not have been noteworthy but all were important and done well. We have lost a good friend,” said Harlan Ochs, a longtime friend.
Hal also served on the boards of the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce, Goodwill Industries of Colorado Springs, the Pikes Peak United Way, the Pikes Peak Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Sunrise Sertoma Club and The Colorado Thirty Group. He received many awards, including the Silver Spur Award from the Pikes Peak Range Riders, the Medal of Merit from the Air Force Association, the Good Neighbor Award from Fort Carson and Business Citizen of the Year from the chamber.
He is survived by a sister, Shirley Dunaway of Spur, Texas; two children, Garth Littrell of Colorado Springs and Cyglenda Lehenbauer of Exeter, Calif.; four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Funeral services are private, but a celebration of life is scheduled for June 10 at the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy, 101 Prorodeo Drive.
This content was originally published here.