William "Bill" Stewart Fraser

January 1, 1941 - April 6, 2022


William Stewart “Bill” Fraser, 81, a lifelong cowboy and adventurer, rode peacefully into the sunset on April 6, 2022. He was at his home in Vaughn, surrounded by family and his dog, Missy.

Born on New Year’s Day in 1941 in Bozeman, Montana to parents Daniel and Margaret (Tremper) Fraser, Bill was the youngest of four boys, Dan, Bud, and Rich, and had a little sister, Peggy. He spent his childhood on ranches throughout Montana where his father managed them for the Fraser Land and Cattle Company. All of the kids became accomplished cowhands and rodeo contestants. Riding broncs and bulls became Bill’s passion, and with hard work and dedication, he competed in those events for many years. Despite pressure from many a manager during his professional career, Bill never really quit rodeo, and competed as a saddle bronc rider in the Old Timer’s Rodeo in Las Vegas in 1985 at the age of 44. His pictures and trophy buckles from his rodeo days are proudly displayed in his home to this day. One of his proudest moments was when the Fraser Family was inducted into the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2015 as one of Montana’s Great Rodeo families.

Though his sense of humor and healthy disregard for authority often landed him in hot water with his teachers in high school, all of that changed when Bill went to college. He attended Montana State University on a rodeo scholarship and graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Animal Science in 1965. After gaining his bachelor’s degree, Bill’s passion for education and rodeo ultimately led to him earning a Master’s Degree in Animal Science from Oregon State University in 1969. While working on his master’s degree, Bill taught at Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton, Oregon, and he started their rodeo team in 1968. A lifelong learner, he completed further PhD work in the field of Animal Science at Texas A&M University and the University of Natal in South Africa throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s. Bill was fond of saying, “if you’re earning or learning you can’t go wrong,” a value his family still lives by today.

Bill loved adventure and travel and found both in a diverse and storied career centered around agriculture, horses, and livestock. He lived overseas for many years, representing IMC Global in South Africa, managing the agricultural interests for a sheik in Saudi Arabia, and teaching animal husbandry techniques to the Kazakh people throughout Russia and Mongolia. His business experience varied from working with large institutions like Monfort’s and Conagra to being the Vice President of Arizona Feeds, to owning a safari company in Johannesburg, South Africa. After many decades, he returned to the US to semi-retire and run the dude ranch for the Ojai Valley Inn in California, where he met many a celebrity and didn’t care a whit about them so long as they followed his rules and respected his horses. At long last, he returned to his Montana home in 2010 and took up residence across the fence from his brother Bud in Vaughn, designing and building his Casa del Vaquero or “cowboy condo” as he liked to call it. Bill was never one for sitting still and you could generally find him working on his property. He enjoyed going to rodeos or watching PBR bull riding, and would often load his dog Missy up on his quad and take her for a ride. They shared a fondness for McDonald’s hamburgers.

He had an innate talent for finding a connection with a stranger within five minutes of meeting them and has friends all over the world. He treasured his relationships with family, once you became part of his family, you were always family. Despite living overseas for many years, he communicated with his children and grandchildren regularly and never missed a birthday. He always chose the perfect card for the occasion with a written note that made you feel like he was right there with you. Though he married and divorced twice, he remained on good terms with both of his ex-spouses throughout his life. He is survived and mourned by a large group of family and friends who love him dearly: his brothers, Daniel (Judy), Bud, and Rich (Vicki) Fraser; sister, Peggy Randle; daughters, Sandra (Jack) Fraser and Shawn (Richard) Ramirez; stepson, Eugene (Rayna) Moorcroft; grandson, William Gibson; step-grandsons, Andrew and Colin Moorcroft; former wife, Sandra Dust, mother of Sandra and Shawn; former wife, Linda Fraser, mother of Eugene; and his girlfriend of the past many years, Peggy Motil. He was preceded in death by his parents.

Bill was cremated and directed that his ashes be poured into the Missouri River where they will flow from the Rocky Mountains across Montana, into the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean to spread around the world, nomadic as he was in life. The Fraser Family will be holding a celebration of his life later this year on July 16, 2022, so that his extended family can come up to Montana to attend. Donations in Bill’s honor can be made to the MSU Rodeo Team where a scholarship in his honor has been set up.

Schedule of Services

William "Bill"'s Guestbook


Tribute Candle 1 of 4
Tribute Candle 2 of 4
Tribute Candle 3 of 4
Tribute Candle 4 of 4