A volunteer official, Church took the Olympic oath on behalf of all competition judges and officials at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, where he served as chief of timing and scoring for Alpine skiing.

The Albuquerque resident's officiating career began with his home ski club in Taos, New Mexico and spanned five decades as he became one of the world's most knowledgeable experts in the sport.

"Allen Church typified the passion we see in our volunteers that helps our sport thrive," said USS President and chief executive Tiger Shaw. 

"While we miss Allen, his legacy will be in the thousands of officials he has impacted throughout his career."

Church was a scientist and also an actor who appeared in several cowboy westerns.

A passion for Alpine ski racing saw him work as a technical delegate between 1978 and 1995.

He worked at World Cups, World Championships and the Olympics and received the Westhaven Award for international technical delegates in 1996.

In 2014 he was honoured with the John Claire Award for service to the USS teams and he picked up the Bud and Mary Little Award for service to the Olympics and the International Ski Federation in 2003.

He was inducted into the New Mexico Ski Hall of Fame in 2007 and received the organisation's highest honour, the Julius Blegen Award, in 2015.

Church is survived by his two daughters, Janet Harrison and Nancy Whetstone. 

It was their engagement in ski racing that brought him into the sport.