Ed "Doc" LeTourneau

September 18, 1935 – January 17, 2026

Ed (Doc) LeTourneau was born in San Francisco on September 18, 1935 to Dorothy LeTourneau. Ed's family moved to the Stockton, CA area in 1937, then moved and settled in Oakdale, CA in 1947. Ed graduated valedictorian of the Oakdale High School class of 1953.

While attending Oakdale High, Ed lettered in 3 sports: Football (Defensive linebacker and offensive wingback), Wrestling (154 lbs.) and Track and Field (Middle distances, mile, and 2 miles). Although Ed really enjoyed football, he loved wrestling and won the San Joaquin Valley championship his senior year. Ed was also active in Future Farmers of America showing steers and serving as President of the Oakdale High Chapter of the FFA his senior year. Ed was also active in student body government serving as Vice-President of his senior class in 1953.

Ed's uncle Norman Higgins had a cattle ranch in Clements, CA and that is where Ed was introduced to the cowboy lifestyle. Ed's oldest brother Ray LeTourneau took an interest in riding steers, and later bulls, and the two LeTourneau brothers would spend as much time as possible at the ranch, learning from Uncle Norman all the responsibilities of a working cowboy, and ranch management. But both brothers developed an intense desire to learn how to ride rodeo rough stock. Ed got on his first steer at the age of 13 and brother Ray had already begun to ride bulls at local rodeos. Listening and learning from Ray, Ed got on his first bull when he was 15.

It didn't take long for the bothers to become quite good at riding bulls, and Ed placed third at just his third rodeo. Riding that success, Ed was bitten by the rodeo bug which started a bull-riding career that lasted over fifty years.

Just outside of Oakdale, Ed's family lived on a small almond orchard that was right next-door to the huge U3 cattle ranch. Ed and younger brother John both got jobs there irrigating the vast pastures and over time, the cowboys at the U3 taught Ed how to rope and ride and nearly every aspect of cattle-ranching and cowboy responsibilities.

After graduating from High School, Ed won a scholarship to wrestle for Cal-Poly in San Luis Obispo where he attended his freshman year of college. However, money was tight in those days, and Ed returned to the valley and attended Stockton College, then Modesto Jr. College But his dream was to become a veterinarian with an education from UC Davis, and Ed had a plan to acquire enough money to attend an expensive University of California school.

Just a few short years after learning and practicing with his brother, Ed developed an intense desire to be the best, and coupled with a natural ability, Ed had improved his bull riding skills at an unbelievable rate. Ed found he could enter rodeos and frequently beat the top bull-riders in the local area. Soon, Ed found he could compete with some of the top bull-riders in the amateur ranks and even outscore some professional riders as well. With newfound confidence, Ed hit the rodeo trail in the summer of 1956 and was successful enough to save his rodeo prize money and use it to pay for tuition and books. That fall, Ed began attending the University of California, Davis.

Ed had also continued to develop his wrestling skills, and wrestling workouts kept him in top physical condition, which is extremely important for the rough sport of bull riding. Ed had a strong desire to represent his school and wrestle in the NCAA, but UC Davis did not have a wrestling team. So, frequently Ed would drive down to UC Berkley and workout with wrestlers in the Cal Bears wrestling program. This passion for wrestling inspired Ed to meet with the athletic director at UC Davis and Ed convinced the athletic director to start a wrestling program at UC Davis. By this time Ed was such a strong competitor in wrestling that his reputation caused the wrestling team to grow and quickly become a force in the NCAA. Ed finished the 1958 wrestling season as runner-up to the champion in the NCAA West Coast regional. Unbeknownst to Ed at the time, his wrestling and rodeo achievements would later get him inducted into the UC Davis Athletic Hall-of-Fame in 1981.

Now rodeoing for UC Davis, Ed's college career in rodeo was nothing short of spectacular. In 1957, Ed successfully rode 50 out of 52 bulls. In 1958, Ed had an incredible run of successfully riding 37 straight bulls without getting bucked off. That year Ed finished the rodeo season as the NCAA West Coast Regional Champion; won the College National Finals Rodeo and finished runner-up to the College National Champion. During this time, Ed was still paying for college with his rodeo earnings.

In 1959, Ed joined the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. Even though he entered rodeos primarily in the summer to accommodate his college education, Ed qualified for the first National Finals Rodeo; the grueling year-end rodeo that requires the top fifteen contestants in the world to ride 10 times in ten days, on the best livestock in rodeo. As a rookie in the professional rodeo association, Ed rode 8 out of ten bulls at that NFR rodeo and finished second in the average behind the legend Jim Shoulders, Ed was reserve rookie-of-the-year and finished 5th place in the world standings at the end of the 1959 rodeo season. In 1960 Ed finished the rodeo season in 16th place, which was not high enough to qualify to compete at the National Finals Rodeo that year. That didn't stop him. He qualified for the NFR again in 1961, won 5th in the average and finished in 7th place in the world standings. Ed graduated from UCD with a doctorate in veterinary medicine in 1962 and began to focus on his career more than Rodeo. Ed entered fewer rodeos that year and 1963.

In 1962, Ed married Frankie Mathis, daughter of rodeo cowboy and cattle rancher Frank Mathis. Ed took an intern job at the UC Davis large animal clinic in 1962 and remained there throughout the following year, 1963. Ed's first son David was born in 1963, and in 1964 Ed moved his family to Stockton where he began his large animal practice. Ed's second son Brett was born in 1966 and the following year, Ed told Frankie he wanted to rodeo hard and try to become the world champion bull rider. So, in 1967 Ed hit the rodeo trail and was winning consistently and moving up the world standings when he began having serious trouble with his right shoulder dislocating. Although he qualified for the NFR that year, Ed decided to have his shoulder surgically repaired and did not compete at the NFR but still finished in 11th place in the world standings. Now focusing more on his career, Ed moved the LeTourneau family to Oakdale in 1968 where Ed worked as a cattle and small animal veterinarian and began to lay the foundation for a career in Equine medicine and surgery.

In 1976, Ed got an opportunity to work at two prominent horse ranches in Madera, CA: El Peco Thoroughbred Ranch in Western Madera, and the Huntley Quarter Horse Ranch in Eastern Madera, so he moved the family to Madera in 1977. Eventually, Ed set up his own Vet practice working out of the Livestock buildings at the Madera Fair Grounds until 1980, then he moved his practice to his home on Ave. 17 and practiced there until he retired in 2019. Over the years working as a large animal veterinarian, Ed developed a reputation as one of the finest lameness/leg veterinarians in California. Clients with athletic horses – primarily rodeo horses – came from all over the Western United States to have Ed diagnose and treat their lame horses. Ed performed over a thousand surgeries at his vet hospital on all different types of animals, but primarily horses.

With experience treating all different types of animals, Ed never turned anyone away – he worked on small animals, exotic animals, cattle, and even birds. Ed enjoyed his career and all the people he served over the years – you couldn't be a stranger around Ed longer than 5 or 10 minutes. Ed was also very supportive of local 4H clubs and donated a lot of time to helping students, especially kids in the FFA program at Madera High Schools.

In 1980, Ed began his second rodeo career. He joined the National Old Timers Rodeo Association (later renamed the Senior Pro Rodeo Association) at the age of 45 and began riding bulls again in rodeos around central California. Ed had kept himself in top shape over the years, always exercising and lifting weights and he began winning, and traveling to more Senior pro rodeos in the mid to late 1980's. In 1991, at the age of 56, Ed finally realized his dream when he became the Senior Pro Rodeo World Champion. Ed was inducted into the Oakdale Athletic Hall of Fame that same year. In 1992, Ed won the Sr. Pro National Finals Rodeo and was again the world Champion. In 1993 Ed was a "threepeat" world champion and in 1994 he won the world title again, as well as winning the Sr. Finals rodeo. During these 4 consecutive world titles, Ed also won the Canadian Sr. Pro Finals rodeo three times, and he was the Canadian Champion those three years as well. In 1995, at the age of 60, the Sr. Pro Rodeo Board of Directors created a special category and had a special belt buckle made and named Ed the "Over 60" World Champion Bull rider because no one else in the association was still riding bulls at that age. Ed continued to ride bulls in the late 1990's but went to fewer and fewer rodeos each year as time inevitably caught up to him and began taking a toll on his body. At a rodeo in 1999, as Ed made his dismount, the bull stepped on his abdomen causing serious injury to his internal organs. After riding bulls for over 50 years, Ed decided to stop hitting the rodeo trail at the age of 64.

In 1995 while still competing, Ed was inducted into the National Senior Pro Rodeo Association Hall of Fame in Wickenburg , Arizona. In 2014, Ed was inducted into the Oakdale Cowboy Museum Hall of Fame, in 2017 Ed was inducted into the National Western Heritage Museum Rodeo Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, OK and in 2022, Ed was inducted into the Bull Riding Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas. All of these inductions are a testament to Ed's dedication and achievements in the rodeo arena.

In 1980, Ed rededicated his life to God. Ed's relationship with Jesus Christ had a profound impact on his life and Ed and Frankie joined the Church of the Nazarene in Madera, where he served on the board for many years until the church disbanded. Ed and Frankie joined First Christian Church in Madera and attended there for ten years, then Ed and Frankie began attending, and later joined First Southern Baptist Church in 2022. Ed touched many lives through his business and rodeo ventures and often he would have a positive influence on people who only crossed paths with Ed for a few moments. Ed lived his life walking with God as a humble, hardworking man, husband and parent and he never missed an opportunity to spread the good word of God's truth and love.

Ed was preceded in death by his mother, Dorothy Engler and stepfather Herman Engler of Oakdale CA, brother Ray LeTourneau of St. Helens OR, sister Harlene Frohnen of Snohomish WA, sister Carol Ann Peterson of Ripon CA, brother Arden Engler of Pasadena CA, sister Ardis Spalding of Southfield, MI, and sister Berniece Rhineberg of Shady Cove, OR. Ed is survived by his wife of 63 years, Frankie LeTourneau, brother John Engler of De Borgia, MT, sister Janet VanDiepen of Baker, OR, son David LeTourneau of Valencia, CA, son Brett LeTourneau of Madera, Granddaughter Amy Devencenzi of Clovis, CA, Granddaughter Cady LeTourneau of Madera and two great- grandchildren Alice and James Devencenzi.

In Lieu of flowers, you can donate in Ed "Doc" LeTourneau's name to Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund at www.justincowboycrisisfund.org.