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Facts and Events
| Name |
Floyd Alexander Minor |
| Alt Name |
Buck/Sonny _____ |
| Gender |
Male |
| Birth[1][2][3] |
26 Jan 1926 |
Hinsdale, Valley, Montana |
| Other[6] |
10 Nov 1944 |
Fort Lewis, Washingtonenlisted as a private Military |
| Other[1][5][9] |
1944–1946 |
Fort Lewis, WashingtonArmy Calvary Staff Sergeant Secondary date: 1944 Military |
| Residence[3] |
1993 |
Ellensburg, Kittitas, Washington158 RR 5 Box |
| Death[1][2] |
5 Nov 2011 |
Ellensburg, Kittitas, Washington |
| Other[7][8][10] |
12 Nov 2011 |
Ellensburg, Kittitas, WashingtonObit |
| Other[1] |
13 Nov 2011 |
Ellensburg, Kittitas, WashingtonIOOF Cemetery Burial details |
| Other[1][4] |
|
Link to Parents |
Questionable information identified by WeRelate automation
| To fix: | | Invalid date(s); edit the page to see message(s) |
_FSFTID: LVQN-2SX
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 , (I)Daily Record, Ellensburg, Washington, . (1)
Obituary of Floyd A. "Buck" Minor; 10 November 2011. - ↑ 2.0 2.1 Social Security Death Index.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ancestry.com, "," database, (www.ancestry.com: accessed ), .
accessed; 8 March 2014; US Public Records Index, Volume II, Floyd A Minor.
- ↑ 1940 US Census, Kittitas Co., Washington, , ; digital images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed ).
Ellensburg; 19-6; 6A; household 85; Floyd Minor; July 2012.
- ↑ "," Database, WorldVitalRecords, Inc, World Vital Records (www.worldvitalrecords.com: accessed ), .
August 2012; Floyd A Minor, serial no. 39481479, enlisted 10 Nov 1944 at Ft. Lewis, Washington.
- ↑ Ancestry.com, "," database, (www.ancestry.com: accessed ), .
January 2014; US World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946. Floyd A. Minor .
- ↑ , (I)Daily Record, Ellensburg, Washington, . (1)
Floyd A "Buck" Minor; 12 Nov 2011.
- ↑ , (I)Daily Record, Ellensburg, Washington, . (2)
Obituary of Floyd A. "Buck" Minor; 10 November 2011.
- ↑ Minor, Floyd A
Serial Number
: 39481479
Residence
: Kittitas, Washington
Enlistment Place
: Ft Lewis, Washington
Enlistment Date
: 10 November 1944
Grade Alpha
: Pvt
Grade Code
: Private
Branch Alpha
: No
Branch Code
: No Branch Assignment
Enlistment Term
: Enlistment For The Duration of The War or Other Emergency, Plus Six Months, Subject To The Discretion of The President or Otherwise According To Law
Longevity
:
Source
: Civil Life
Nativity
: Montana
Birth Year
: 1926
Race and Citizenship
: White, Citizen
Education
: 3 Years of High School
Civil Occupation
: General Farmers
Marital Status
: Single, Without Dependents
Army Component
: Selectees (Enlisted Men)
Card Number
:
Box Number
: 1441
Reel Number
: 7.12 -->
- ↑ Floyd A. "Buck" Minor: Remembering a legend: Buck Minor: Newspaper Obituary and Death Notice
Daily Record (Ellensburg, WA) - Saturday, November 12, 2011
Deceased Name: Floyd A. "Buck" Minor: Remembering a legend: Buck Minor
Longtime cowboy, roper and Ellensburg Rodeo Board member Floyd A. "Buck" Minor, 85, died Nov. 5, leaving a legacy on the ranch, in the rodeo arena and throughout the community.
Buck Minor was a cowboy his whole life. He was born in Hinsdale, Mont., in 1926, and grew up on the family's ranch, not far from the Canadian border. His family moved to the Kittitas Valley in 1932.
He served in the Army during World War II, assigned to the Fifth Cavalry. During his time in the service, Buck worked with horses in the U.S., and his machine gun unit was sent to the Philippines where it cleared out remnants of Japanese resistance.
He came home in November 1946 to work on the family ranch on Wilson Creek Road, and he married Merna Engel in 1948. Minor began work on the Stu Bledsoe ranch in 1949 and later became ranch manager.
Mac Bledsoe, who now lives in Kalispell, Mont., and is returning to Ellensburg to speak at Sunday's memorial service, said Buck worked for his family for 36 years on the Flying B Ranch. Stu Bledsoe didn't have much background in ranching when he started, so he knocked on his neighbors' doors on Wilson Creek Road to see if anyone would be willing to help.
"He got to Floyd Minor's house, and Buck's dad, Floyd, said, 'My kid might be interested,'" Mac Bledsoe said. "The next day Buck came down to our house. ... He called my dad Bledsoe, and said he drove a hard bargain. He asked for unlimited pasture for his horses and every other weekend off for rodeo, and said, 'other than that, I'm ready to work.' "
It was a 36-year relationship based on nothing but a handshake, Mac Bledsoe said.
"He was an honest, hardworking man who made a living and earned respect," he said. "If Buck said he was going to do it, you could consider it done."
Buck was an expert at breaking horses. Mac Bledsoe remembers watching Buck calm one horse that was particularly unmanageable. A guy showed up with a newfangled setup of ropes and wasn't able to do much.
"Two weeks later, I watched Buck walk out there. He didn't have bridles, halter, rope or a bell," he said. "He walked up and stood next to it for five or 10 minutes and put his hand behind the back of his neck. He walked the horse out of the field and in 15 minutes he had a saddle on it," he said. "An hour later he was riding that horse.
"He just said, 'You've got to pay attention to the horse. Horses take it as an affront if you face them, so you want to walk up beside them. I just stood next to him and breathed, and my body language communicated that we were together.'"
Bledsoe said Buck sensed when people were having a hard time, too.
"As he was teaching me about that horse, his hand was on my shoulder," he said.
On the ranch
Neighbor and rancher Mert Stampfly said he and Buck went back a long ways. Buck helped move, brand and vaccinate his cattle over the years.
"He was a very good person, and we always enjoyed kidding with one another a little bit. We always got along good ... never had a negative moment with him," Stampfly said.
He visited with Buck about three weeks ago. They talked about old times, and speculated about the future. People will always remember Buck and think of good things, he said.
"One time Stu Bledsoe had a bunch of black Angus bulls, a year and a half, two years old, and Stu needed the tattoo numbers," Stampfly said with a laugh. "Buck went and roped every one and tied them to the power poles and got the number. He said one of the hardest jobs he had was getting the rope back off them. I can't imagine."
Roping
The Minor family is legendary when it comes to rodeo in the Kittitas Valley, and Buck began to volunteer and compete in the Ellensburg Rodeo when he was 14. Buck's father served as a pickup man and moved cattle for the events.
"I started working the rodeo stock back then, and I've been doing it ever since," Buck said in a 2005 Daily Record interview. "I guess it's what an old cowboy does."
Buck picked back up with the rodeo after World War II, and joined the Kittitas County Calf Roping Club. Jack Wallace said Floyd Minor and Chet Morrison started the club in 1942 or 1943, and Buck participated up until he was in his 60s.
"He was a great horseman, he was known for having good horses, and he was a real good cowman, too, as well as a real good roper," Wallace said.
The rodeo
Buck stood out in ranch-related rodeo events. He was a two-time Kittitas County calf roping champion and also won the wild-cow milking, with Bledsoe as his mugger, historian Mike Allen wrote when Buck and the Minor family were inducted into the Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2007.
The Minor family was named the Rodeo Family of the Year in 1997 by the Top Hands. Buck and his sons were Cattlemen of the Year in 1994.
Buck passed on the rodeo legacy. Grandson Brady Minor gave his National Finals Rodeo buckle to Buck in 2006, and it was a memory Buck treasured. Buck also was on stage when Riley Minor gave his buckle to his father, Brent. Brady and Riley won NFR buckles in 2009, and are headed to Las Vegas for this year's competition.
There's been a member of the Minor family competing in Kittitas County calf roping or the breakaway event at the Ellensburg Rodeo for decades. Five of Buck's children qualified for the national high school rodeo finals.
Buck attended the Pro West Finals Rodeo in Yakima in October where three of his grandchildren competed, and the open rodeo in Toppenish in August, where five of his grandchildren competed. Grandsons Jake and Jason, and Riley and Brady are competing in the Columbia River Circuit Finals this weekend, said daughter-in-law Mary Minor.
The success is the result of hard work, she said.
"Buck always made sure his kids had great horses to ride and cattle to rope," she said.
At the rodeo
Ken MacRae, who served on the Ellensburg Rodeo Board for two decades with Buck, said he was a tough cowboy and roper.
"He was the first person to tie it down in 10 flat and it was legging style," he said. "Everybody flanks now and he was legging 10."
MacRae was the arena director for many years, and said Buck was his right-hand man. They got to work at 5 a.m. to start sorting cattle. It was a long day, but they enjoyed it.
"During the rodeo, it was absolutely a full-time job, and it was Buck and I most of those years," he said. "We knew what the competitors liked. He was a good liaison between the rodeo board and the cowboys themselves."
MacRae remembers heading to Denver with Buck in the 1970s for a PRCA convention. They were "country boys in the big city," he chuckled.
"He was a fine man, and one of my best friends," he said. "He was one of a kind, and the end of an era."
Leaving a legacy
Buck spent 35-plus years on the Ellensburg Rodeo Board, and left a legacy in his service. Scott Repp, who served on the board with Buck for 20 years, said Buck worked with the contestants and rough stock, among many other responsibilities.
"He was one of those guys who couldn't seem to do enough as far as being a volunteer on the board," Repp said. "Every time there would be a work party, anytime there was a job that wasn't fun, he was always there doing his job."
Buck didn't say much in board meetings, but when he did, everyone listened and followed his advice, Repp said.
The roping club flourished because of Buck, and his legacy will carry on to the next generation, he said.
"The greatest and best thing that Buck Minor did for the community were the kids and grandkids he left behind. They are all just a chip off the old block," Repp said.
Family
Mary Minor said Buck loved everyone, and never met a stranger. He didn't miss a junior, amateur or pro rodeo when his family was competing.
"He was a true cowboy, and there aren't a lot left," she said.
Buck's son, Brent, said people looked up to his father.
"From the time I was 5 years old, I probably rode with him every day," he said. "That's all we did was cowboy and work the ranches. We rode and roped everyday. He picked me up from school and we were headed somewhere to cowboy."
Buck and Merna had six children; Mike, Pat, Brent, Rosemarie, Troy and Marla. Ten grandchildren are continuing the Minor family tradition; Bill, Jason, Brady, Riley, Bailey, Jake and Annie Mae, Hunter, Spencer Slyfield and Cole Sullivan; and he is survived by loving companion Bonnie Jensen.
Graveside services are planned at noon on Sunday at the IOOF Cemetery and will be followed by a celebration of life at the Kittitas County Fairgrounds. A full obituary appeared in Thursday's Daily Record.
Author: JOANNA MARKELL managing editor
Copyright 2011, Daily Record (Ellensburg, WA), All Rights Reserved.
Floyd A. "Buck" Minor (1926-2011) Obituary
Daily Record, Ellensburg, WA 10 Nov 2011
Floyd A "Buck" Minor died peacefully on Saturday, November 5, 2011, surrounded by his loving family, just as he was his entire life. Buck was born January 26, 1926 in Hinsdale, Montana, the son of Floyd P. and Jean G. Minor. He moved with his family in 1932 to Ellensburg. He served in the Army as Calvary Staff Sergeant from 1944 to 1946. Buck's early childhood was filled with ranching and rodeo, he knew at an early age this was his destiny. His career was spent ranching and as a cowboy. Rodeo was an important part of his life. At the age of 14, Buck got involved with the Ellensburg Rodeo as a volunteer and contestant. In 1997 his family was Rodeo Family of the Year. He was a member of the Rodeo Board for 35 years, and was inducted into the Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2007. Buck married Merna Engel on July 4, 1948. They raised six children on the family ranch in Ellensburg, and were married for 54 years before Merna passed away in 2002. Those who knew and loved Buck know what a nurturing and devoted family man he was, caring for grandchildren and watching their many activities were the most enjoyable moments of his life. Pa Buck was adored and the fond memories he built and left will forever be treasured. Because of Buck's friendly, kind and easy going infectious nature people were never strangers to him. People were always drawn to Buck, especially children. Buck met Bonnie Jensen and they shared a special friendship that included dancing, trips to the National Finals Rodeo and winters in Arizona. Besides Merna, Buck was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his children; Mike (Schiree), Pat, Brent (Mary), Troy (Kelly), Rose (Fred) Slyfield, Marla (Ed) Williams; grandchildren: Bill, Jason, Brady (Ashley), Riley, Baily, Jake and Annie Mae Minor, Hunter, Spencer Slyfield and Cole Sullivan; sisters: Peg Hunt and Bette Jean (Gene) Reichert, and his loving companion Bonnie Jensen. Viewing will be Friday November 11 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturday November 12 from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Graveside Services will be held Sunday, November 13, 2011 at IOOF Cemetery at 12:00 p.m. A Celebration of Life will follow at the Kittitas County Fairgrounds. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Hospice Friends in care of Affordable Funeral Care 101 E 2nd Ave Ellensburg. Arrangements are entrusted to Affordable Funeral Care.
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