The Theos name and Swallow Fork Ranch are a legacy in Northwestern Colorado where herded bands of sheep have been a tradition for more than a century. The Theos family exclusively raises sheep, grazing them from lower elevation winter country to high elevation mountain pastures in the summer. At home on Colorado’s Western Slope, the Theos operation produces quality lamb and fine wool, their reputation going far beyond Rio Blanco County. Their fleeces have won Championship awards at the prestigious National Western Stock Show, and they partner with Whole Foods, who proudly offers Theos Swallow Fork Ranch branded lamb in their stores. Today their business is run by Angelo “Butch” Theos, the third-generation patriarch of the family, and his youngest son, Anthony “Tony.”

The Theos legacy began when Angelo’s grandfather came to America from Greece in the late 1880s. He came west to work in the mines, only long enough to save the money needed to buy a herd of sheep. He soon did that and accumulated several thousand head of sheep which eventually yielded a substantial profit. Taking their profits, they returned home to Greece. But Grandfather Theos, also named Angelo, wasn’t happy, and returned to America in 1922, settling in Rio Blanco County where the family still lives and ranches near Meeker. He began buying up homesteads as people sold out, eventually acquiring the acres needed to start into the sheep business again.

Theos had the foresight to understand he couldn’t raise enough hay to feed his sheep through the tough Colorado winters, and was able to locate winter range further west at Rangely, Colorado. He also bought some summer permits in the forest, and in that way, the process of trailing sheep to the winter range, back to private ground for lambing, and then up to the summer permits began. It took many years of planning, but today, all of the summer permits are connected to the private ranch land, which allows them to continue the tradition of “trailing” sheep to the summer range.

Angelo “Butch” was nine years old when his grandfather died. He remembers many things about him and says, “He was quite a man and made a big impression on me when I was a kid.” The first year Butch went on the trail with his own father was 1959 when he was 11 years old. He remembers that the trip to their summer range took 14 days. He speaks of Horse Ridge, Sleepy Cat Mountain, Pagoda Peak, Picket Pen and Indian Rock Corral, the names as magical as the places. He says, “It’s embedded in my mind like it happened yesterday.” He remembers fishing in the mountain streams during his downtime, and says, “I could catch 10 fish in 30 minutes. That’s what I remember -- being with the sheep, cutting wood and hauling it to camp with the mules, and thinking how awful the water at the ranch tasted after drinking the water up in the mountains.”

For young Butch, like those before him, sheep became his life; and though he completed a degree from Colorado State University, Butch says raising sheep is all he ever wanted to do. Today, Butch’s son Anthony “Tony”, has followed that same trail. Immediately following college, like his father, Tony came back to the ranch. In fact, he never really left, as he tells it, working on the ranch part-time all through college. Tony says, “This ranch has taught me a lot of things. I learned more in one spring of lambing than I did in a whole year of college. Many of my friends work for the weekend. They work to have a good time when they’re off. For me, this work is my good time!” One of Butch’s grandsons, Brady, has now joined their team. It takes a family effort, and Butch’s wife Karin and Tony’s wife Dani, along with Tony’s two sons, Thomas and Ari, all play important roles. It seems the Theos sheep operation is looking secure into the future.

Both Butch and Tony have served the sheep industry for decades, holding leadership positions at the local, state and national level. They are also committed to their local community, with they and other family members serving in numerous capacities in Meeker and surrounding Rio Blanco County, Colorado. The Theos family gives extensive time to functions outside their ranching operation, including in support of the branded product at Whole Foods. Butch says, “We feel like our participation outside the ranch makes our operation a little better, and hopefully, makes things better for everybody, inside and outside the industry.”