Walter "Buddy" Draper

Walter “Buddy” Draper, 75, of Wetmore, Colorado passed away on Sunday, June 25th, 2023. Buddy was born to George and Leona Draper in Canon City on December 30th, 1947. He was raised in Wetmore and lived on the Draper Land & Cattle Company Ranch his entire life. As a third-generation rancher, Buddy was integral in keeping the family ranching legacy going. He was a rancher full-time and a rodeo cowboy on the weekends. Buddy graduated from Florence High School in 1965 and earned a BA in Education from Southern Colorado State College. He met the love of his life, Jerry, in college and they married on October 9th, 1971. He and Jerry continued to rodeo, rope, and ranch their 51 years of marriage. They had two children, Wade and Chad, that continue to carry on the rodeo and ranching tradition. 

In the middle of college, Buddy served in the National Guard for four years. When he returned, he graduated in 1972. Buddy was on the college rodeo team, a gold card member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, and president of the Colorado Professional Rodeo Association for 5 years. He earned many accolades during his rodeo career and continued team roping competitively until recently. He was a board member of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, served on the Wetmore Volunteer Fire Department, and was a past board member of the Fremont County 4-H. He also worked on Western movies filmed in the area for many years. 

Buddy is survived by his wife, Jerry; sister Peggy (Fred) Davis of Tombstone, AZ; his son Wade (Jan) Draper of Stanfield, AZ; his other son Chad (Christy) Draper of Wetmore, CO; five grandchildren who were the light of his life - Lexi, Mason, Trey, Chisum, and Avery Draper; nieces and nephews; and numerous friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, George, and Leona.

Buddy loved his family, good horses, ranching, roping, rodeos, and dear friends he met along the rodeo trail. He always wore a huge smile and loved to share a story or two. 

Services will be held at Pathfinder Events Center in Florence, Colorado on July 12th, 2023, at 1:30 pm. The family has requested that remembrances be made in the form of contributions to a scholarship fund for the Colorado Junior Rodeo Association. Those contributions can be made to the Buddy Draper memorial account at First National Bank - 300 N. Main, Rocky Ford, CO 81067. 

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