Dale Wade

Dale A. Wade, 91 of Cheyenne WY, passed away on Thursday, October 31, 2019. Dale was born on May 23, 1928 at the home ranch on Bull Creek near Buffalo, South Dakota. During the 30's, several of the kids went to Portland OR to live with other family members.

Dale worked at a lumber mill until they found out he was under 16 and had to quit. He then worked as a welder for the Kaiser Company in the Portland shipyard for a while. A flood forced them to live in a tent for some time. Later, he returned to finish school in Buffalo, working at the family ranch as well as welding for Schwartz's garage.

He met Annie Conrad at Buffalo when her family was in Harding County conducting seismic testing for the oil companies. They married in Buffalo and settled on the Bull Creek ranch until he was drafted into the Army from 1954-1956. After 6 months at FT Belvoir VA for training, he spent 15 months as a welder mostly for the 57th Engineer Company at Kaiserslautern, Germany. He was also a member of the shooting team and won 1st place in at least one rifle competition. He returned home in 1956 and worked the ranch and sheared sheep and come winter worked bridge construction in the 4 Corners area as well before moving to Cortez, CO in spring of 1960.

He returned to Dupree, SD in 1962 to work as a government trapper for the US Fish & Wildlife Service and decided to go to college in 1965. Graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in Wildlife Management and a PhD in Physiology, he went to work for Colorado State University Agriculture Extension Program as a predator control specialist. He later transferred to UC Davis and then to the Texas A&M Extension Program. While at Texas A&M he conducted extensive research in the use of 1080 for predator control and testified for various congressional committees on his findings. He published a number of professional articles concerning predator control, traveled extensively documenting and photographing predation, served as the chair of several Western Hemisphere predator control conferences attended by multiple countries, and his writings are still utilized today by professionals in many countries.

His knowledge and experience led to several invitations to take a position with the Department of Agriculture in Washington DC and he finally relented in 1985 and spent 4 years working and dis'cussin' with the federal bureaucracy before retiring in 1989 to Cheyenne WY. In Cheyenne, he was a frequent visitor to local yard and estate sales, buying, fixing and selling anything with small engines. His children and grandchildren were the frequent benefactors of many great deals. He met many people and made a select few friends in the process. An avid reader, he accumulated numerous books of many genres including many western history books.

Dale is preceded in death by his mother Rosella, his son John Wade, 1 brother, and 8 sisters. He is survived by his loving wife Annie; daughters Jean (Warren) Montague and Linda (Bill) Boosembark; sons Jesse (Kathleen) Wade, Bill (Patricia) Wade, and Jim (Cristy) Wade. In addition, he is survived by his grandchildren Brian, Skylar, Kacey, Thomas, Daric, Kyle, and Ryan; great-grandson Jackson; and sisters Ramona and Irene.
He was a strong, honorable, and humble man whose word was his bond and he expected the same. His acquaintances were many and a select few met his standard to be called friends. Most are now welcoming him to the big reunion where old trappers, ranchers, and friends meet. Those of us still here will miss him greatly.