Lee Shoop

Richard ‘Lee’ Shoop passed peacefully into the arms of his Savior on Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, after spending the day surrounded by loved ones. He was 91 years old.

A man of deep Christian faith, Lee will be remembered for being steadfast, honest, forthright, hardworking, loyal, generous, forgiving, and devoted. Love of family was always first, but he would also want to be remembered for his love of horses.

Lee was born to Jeanette (Lamboley) and Henry Shoop on Saturday, September 15, 1934, in Joliet, Montana. He grew up on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and the Wind River Reservation near Pavillion, Wyoming, where his father worked for the federal government. It was during this time that Lee was given his first horse, named Cheyenne, the first in a long line of favorite ranch Quarter Horses.

He attended school in Shoshoni, Wyoming, and graduated from Shoshoni High School, where Janet Williams was a schoolmate. During the 1950s, Lee worked for several large cattle operations, including the Arapahoe Ranch in Fremont County and the VR Ranch near Glenrock, Wyoming.

In 1954, Lee and Janet married and they began their nearly 72-year journey together. In 1961, they moved to Wheatland, Wyoming, with their three children to farm and ranch with Lee’s parents. Janet was a faithful and supportive partner in their agricultural, familial, and spiritual pursuits.

In the 1960s, Lee quickly became an valuable part of the Wheatland agricultural and ranching communities. In addition to a cow-calf operation, he raised crops for his feedlot operations. He was a man of many talents, always on the go, seeking agricultural opportunities with land leases, and shared farming and cattle work with friends and neighbors.

Over the years, he was the president of the Lakeside Lateral Ditch Company, part of the Wheatland Irrigation District, where he led the way to obtain funding and spearhead the work to cement the main supply ditch and crop ditches of the local owners – a project that was large in scale and spanned years, with many ditches still in operation, today.

Lee was an integral part of the formation and operation of the Platte County Grazing Association operating on 45,000 acres surrounding Rock River, Wyoming, where he regularly served as the president of the organization until its sale in 1980. Historically, the association made significant contributions to the economies of both Platte and Albany counties.

Through this time, he continued his pursuit of all advances in animal husbandry with certifications in important aspects. Through the 1970s and early 1980s, with local ranch leases of the Loomis and Mullen ranches on the Laramie River, Lee grew his herd to over 500 cows, while still running the feedlots – truly a 365-day-a-year operation, and always with his father, Henry, working alongside.

All the while, Lee maintained his love of horses, and by the early 1980s along with his friend Jim Lay, they began their memberships with the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) which continued for decades, later in collaboration with Ryker Hyche. During this time, they registered countless AQHA horses. During the early 1980s, the horse operation expanded with dozens of brood mares and their offspring, sometimes growing in numbers only Lee could know.

It is likely that Lee trailed cattle and horses over more of Platte and Albany counties than can be imagined. A portion of this work was with his partner, Ryker Hyche, as they teamed up on cattle and horse operations.

Always a worker and an entrepreneur, Lee continued his connection to cattle and horses and then set his sights on real estate by becoming a real estate broker. Throughout the 1990s and well into his mid-eighties, Lee was a successful broker, first with Remax Realty, then with Renown Realty, then with Fuller Western Real Estate, and finally back to Renown Realty.

Thinking toward the future, he continued to develop farmland on Preuit Road in Wheatland into high-yield acreages with well-developed wells and center pivots.

In the late 1980s, he became a member of, and a short time later, an elder at First Christian Church in Wheatland. During his over 30-year term as elder he led the church through difficult periods, mentored many, taught Sunday School classes, helped with Vacation Bible School, served on the mission committee, attended innumerable meetings and prayer breakfasts, and was an unwavering advocate for the church and its members.

Lee and Janet were always a team. And whether it was square dancing, Job’s Daughters’ meetings, athletic events, family reunions, and national or international travel, they were always side by side. Janet and Lee faithfully maintained their connections to classmates and family by attending annual reunions at Shoshoni High School.

Lee was a voracious reader, a lover of words with crossword puzzles, dictionary study, and a poet. Through the 1980s, as a licensed airplane pilot, he loved flying in his Cessa 172 piloting flights with family and friends. And importantly, Lee was a loving father who encouraged his children’s and grandchildren’s endeavors, and he was a ‘father and grandfather’ to even more in the community.

Recently, Lee and Janet continued making friends after they moved to the Primrose Retirement Community in Cheyenne with Lee still dressed in his Paul Bond boots, Stetson, and Pendleton attire. As it had been their entire lives, it is astounding the number of people that valued them both in their final community.

Lee leaves behind his children, April Addison; Marcelle Shoop (Kurt Repanshek); Flint Shoop (Kellie Chidester); brother, Gary Shoop; sister-in-law, Nancy Shoop; his grandchildren, Justin Addison; Clinton Addison (Brannon); Jess Repanshek (Rae); Sean Repanshek (Tiara); a close-knit extended family; and countless “adoptees” and friends.

He was preceded in death by wife, Janet Shoop; father, Henry Shoop; mother, Jeanette Shoop; mother-in-law, Corda Close; father-in-law, Denver Williams; brother, Marvin Shoop; sister-in-law, Mary Shoop; sister-in-law, Joy Lavin; and nephew, Hyde Shoop.

A Celebration of Life service will be held on Saturday, March 21, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at First Christian Church, 95 Nineteenth Street, Wheatland, Wyoming 82201 with Pastor Casey Schroder officiating. Committal service to follow at Wheatland Cemetery. Lunch will be served at the church afterward.

The family extends heartfelt gratitude to all the compassionate caregivers who brought comfort in his final years.

“I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” - John 6:35

Wiederspahn Radomsky Chapel of Cheyenne, Wyoming, is in charge of the arrangements.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Donate | Alzheimer's Foundation of America.

Condolences may be sent here to the family at www.wrcfuneral.com/obituaries

OR www.gormanfh.com.

The funeral will be live streamed at: https://www.youtube.com/@firstchristian-j8q?feature=shared