Thursday, September 3, 2020
I am so saddened to hear of Fred's passing. My heart will never be quite the same. When I first came to Indian Valley and bought 40 acres of rolling prairie grass in the fall of 2003, determined to build a ranch to share my love of horses with at risk kids, I was in a little over my head.
By making friends with some great people, I ended up on the Adam's County Rodeo board the following summer. I met Fred after the rodeo at the Ace Saloon. I think a couple of guys put him up to it, thinking I would turn him away, and he came over and asked me to dance. And dance we did! Just about every dance. Fred was a great dancer!
He asked me to go along to take salt to the cattle on the mountain. We started at Skunk Cabbage. I sat on the front of the four wheeler while Fred raced along, sometimes there was a path. I whooped and hollered and had the time of my life. I think Fred was a bit perplexed. HA! From then on, Fred was like family.
When Fred had a heart attack, Dave Mink and I went over to clean his house before he came home. Yikes! I wanted him to have a safe place to recuperate. We stocked his fridge but he mostly lived on burned to a crisp steaks at his house.
Then Fred got bit on the thumb by a baby rattler inside his house. I wasn't too anxious to hang out over there after that.
I promised to take him in for his back surgery and then get him settled at home. He walked every day which wasn't easy for him.
Fred was a great one for asking everybody's opinion about stuff, over and over, and then ignoring it completely. HA!! He was so endearing, it was hard to be mad at him.
He was a loyal friend. After my summer in and out of comas in 2014 after a bad surgery, Fred was part of my relay team getting me down below to doctors. He never said no. When I had to sell my ranch and move down here, I couldn't talk to Fred on the phone. My left vocal cord was paralyzed in 2014. Fred couldn't understand me on the phone. I know he was hurt that I didn't call and I'm sorry for that. I don't think he quite understood why he couldn't call me. That was hard. I've missed him these past 3 years.
Fred loved his ole app and his hound dog turned cattle dog.
Fred was my beloved friend. Fred was family. He will be missed. XO