Waldon Earl York

Funeral services for Waldon E. York, 67, will be held at 2:00 P.M. Wed., Nov. 25, 2015, at the Niobrara Fairgrounds Auditorium in Lusk, WY. He passed away Sat., Nov. 21, 2015, at his home in Lusk. Pier Funeral Home is assisting the family.

The Lusk Herald
December 2, 2015

Waldon Earl York passed away at his home in Lusk, Wyoming on November 21, 2015, after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Funeral services are at 2:00 P.M. Wed., Nov. 25, 2015 at the Niobrara County Fairgrounds Auditorium, with interment at the Node Cemetery.

He was born in Douglas Wyoming on February 11, 1948 to Earl and Clara York, and they resided on the family ranch near Shawnee, WY. He was later adopted by his mother Dorothy York and continued to live on the family ranch with Earl & Dorothy, attending grade school in Shawnee, graduating from Douglas High School in 1966. After high school he went to work for Ben Lavasser. While working for Lavasser he totally enjoyed working in the mountains near Douglas.

He was drafted and served in the Army 101st Airborne Division. He was attached to a sniper unit while on active duty in Vietnam.

After returning home from Vietnam, he returned to the Lavasser Ranch south of Douglas, then he moved his family to Buffalo, WY working for the Purdy ranch before moving to Niobrara County, where he worked for Richard Lenz north of Lusk, then moving on to work for Don and Joe Whitaker near Van Tassell, WY. After working for the Whitakers for several years he gave up the life style he loved for more security for his family. He went to work for the city of Lusk as their mechanic in September of 1985 where he was employed for more than 30 years, retiring in February of 2015. While working full time for the city he also managed Frank and Joy Kaltenhauser's yearlings in Niobrara County.

He enjoyed the extended roping season for several months with the advent of indoor arenas. A very accomplished horseman, Waldon went to every roping within 200 miles of Lusk. If he wasn't roping, he was helping his friends and family at every branding, shipping and gathering they had. Waldon was an exceptionally kind and giving person and was always there for whoever needed help.

Waldon had been the president of the Niobrara County Roping Club for 18 years. When he retired from that position he became a life time member. Carrying the flag for the fair parade, cleaning the arena for Senior Pro, as well as being an outrider for the Legend of Rawhide, along with being a 4-H horse leader, were all favored pastimes and he never missed horse day at county fair.

Waldon and his future wife Buttons began their relationship by going into the cow business together, purchasing a "managed risk" set of slightly mature gummer cows from McFadden, WY. They purchased land North and East of Lusk near Node, WY where their headquarters are located today. After several slightly successful attempts in the gummer cow business, they had the opportunity to purchase a set of registered Angus cows in 2006. Waldon is the W and founding member of the WEBO Angus registered herd and a member of the American Angus Association. In addition to running a cow herd together, they decided to get married in December of 2006. Waldon was blessed to have one good woman Buttons and several good horses Charlie, Snip, Duster, Blacky and Taz in his life. Waldon continued to manage and operate the ranch at Node enjoying his love of horses, cattle and family until the day of his passing.

Waldon was preceded in death by his sister Shirley, infant daughter Sara, parents Earl & Dorothy York & Clara York, nephew Cheston York, brother Wayne York. Waldon is survived by his wife Buttons, Mother-in-Law Kathleen Jackson, children Stacy (Gary) Dominguez - Alliance, NE ; Rory York - Florence, Co; Megan (Josh) Franzen - Sundance, WY; Elly (Neal) Wurdeman - Lusk, WY and Odessa Mathias - Lusk, WY - brother Bob York, sister-in-law Barb York, brother Donald Lee York and sister Donna York and his 7 grandchildren Brittan & Damien Dominguez, Carson, Garrette & Lainey Wurdeman, Jose & Jax Franzen and, special nephew John York in addition to numerous other nieces and nephews. His profound love of children and his delight in teasing them, together with the well-known fact that Waldon's Pepsi can might take your breath away complete the picture of this cowboy.

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