Allan Byron Farkas

1942 - 2025

Angels in Heaven rejoice, cause there's a new sheriff in town, and he's gonna be a handful.
Allan Byron Farkas, 82, passed away June 13, 2025, after a brief illness.
He was born Aug. 16, 1942, in Detroit, to Joseph Farkas Jr. and Helen Mary Szücs Farkas. He almost graduated from Southwestern High School, but did manage to marry his high-school sweetheart, Charlotte Margaret Josephine Paraghi, before being whisked away to boot camp and ultimately his first duty assignment in the U.S. Air Force at Biggs Air Force Base in El Paso, Texas. There, he began a long career in law enforcement as a K-9 handler, while garnering his GED through the Armed Forces Institute.
He proudly served in the Air Force for more than 20 years in a variety of duty stations, mostly dragging his family around the globe with him, including assignments at Clear Air Force Base, Alaska; Suffolk County Air Force Base, Long Island, N.Y.; Kincheloe Air Force Base, Michigan; Zaragoza Air Base, Zaragoza, Spain; and ultimately Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis, where he hung up his stripes.
While in the service, he was at one time in the running to be a Security Officer aboard Air Force One, and was the personal driver for Gen. Curtis LeMay, the Air Force Chief of Staff, in the early 1960s. He is credited with training numerous Airmen in police work as well as combat skills-terrorist threat training (which he completed three years before his retirement); during his time in uniform, he was awarded with the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Air Force Good Conduct Medal with 3 oak leaf clusters, the Good Conduct Medal Army, the Air Force Longevity Service Ribbon with 3 oak leaf clusters, and the National Defense Service Medal.
After retiring in November 1979, and not wanting to golf or gather dust, Allan began a second career, this time as a police officer for the city of Clovis. After somehow gutting it out through the police academy at Santa Fe (I passed fingerprinting! Go figure!"), he began as a patrol officer, keeping the streets of Clovis safe while simultaneously making sure his three teenage sons - Tony, Bob and Keith - weren't passengers in the rear of a patrol car. After a few years of patrol, Allan moved up to investigations as a detective, and then changing into a scruffy, leather-clad officer with the nascent Eastern New Mexico Drug Task Force, helping stop the flow of drugs coming up the New Mexico state line from Texas and points south.
He moved to the Portales Police Department while continuing his work in drug enforcement and worked there for many years until the siren call of a slower pace reached him. He then became the Chief Investigator of the Ninth Judicial District Attorney's Office in Curry and Roosevelt counties. He retired the second time from that position - a sage, a professor emeritus of police work - with the respect and admiration of his peers; there seemingly wasn't a town in the state where the police officers didn't know the name of Allan Farkas, much to the chagrin of his children and their friends.
His work was so respected that in 2015, the 93rd Military Police Battalion built a new K-9 facility at Fort Bliss, Texas, the former site of Biggs Army Air Force Base, and invited Allan to be the guest of honor at the dedication.
He was more than just a police officer; he was a friend to many, a mentor to many more, and truly tried to help the criminals become better version of themselves, not just jailing them. Many is the time his family heard from a person he arrested who sang his praises - and were appreciative of the care he took in his work.
He was a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church and attended Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe with his good friend Tony Romero.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Dr. Charlotte Farkas; his parents; and his brother, Donald Farkas, in 1975.
Survivors include his three sons, Tony and wife, Tammy, Bob and wife, Lisa, and Keith and wife, Monique; his grandchildren, Tori Innella, Ella Farkas, Celi Farkas, Samantha Pierce, Jessica Tarango, Daniell Harker, Erin Wilson and Sarah Burris; and great-grandchildren Aiden Kittrell, Brody Kittrell, Zailyn Wilson, and Csarika Tarango.
Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 18, at The Chapel, 1430 N. Thornton St., in Clovis. A private burial service with full military honors will be held June 25 at the National Cemetery in Santa Fe.
Visitation will be held on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, 1:00 pm- 6:00 pm, Family will greet from 4:00 pm-6:00 pm at Muffley Funeral Home, 1430 Thornton, Clovis, NM. Funeral Services will be held on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, at The Chapel, 1500 Thornton, Clovis, NM. Tony Romero, Michael Morales, Mario Jesse Orosco, Kevin Boyd, Ian Pierce, and Christian Burris will serve as pallbearers. Roger "Bart" Bartosieuicz, Randy Harris, Donald Farkas, and Jesse Tarango will serve as honorary pallbearers. A private burial service with full military honors will be held June 25 at the National Cemetery in Santa Fe.
All arrangements have been entrusted to Muffley Funeral Home, www.muffleyfuneralhome.com, (575)762-4435.