Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame Announces 2025 Inductees

Living: Richard Louis Stuker of Chinook; Legacy: John Stuker of Chinook.

RICHARD LOUIS STUKER

DISTRICT 4 – YEAR 2025

Richard Louis Stuker was born on December 3, 1954, in Havre, Montana to John and Fay (Vercruyssen) Stuker. He was the fourth of seven children each born one year apart. Richard spent his early childhood on the family ranch 35 miles north of Chinook, on the Canadian border. Indoor plumbing was not installed in the house until he was eleven. The outhouse was furnished with a Sears catalog for convenience.

For his fifth birthday, Richard's parents bought him a little red wagon. One day they left his older siblings in charge while they went to the neighbors. His older brothers decided to give him a special ride. Their plan included a yearling heifer the kids had turned into a pet. Those mischievous brothers put a rope around the heifer's neck, tied it to the wagon and coaxed Richard in. Giving the heifer a friendly slap on the rump, they later claimed Richard made it one and a half jumps before parting ways with the wagon. The landing knocked him cold, and the wagon was in pieces by the time the heifer stopped running. The brothers made a quick decision to bury the evidence in a manure pile before their parents returned. It wasn't until 46 years later that Richard's mother found out what happened to that special birthday gift.

At age five, while his older siblings were in school, Richard was responsible for driving the team of draft horses while his father pitched hay to the cattle. Richard remembers breaking his first saddle horse at age 13. Horses were a part of everyday life, whether it was hitching up the Belgians with his dad, riding out to check on the newborn calves, or trailing their cows 30 miles from summer pasture to the home place for the winter season. Richard received his schooling in a one room schoolhouse through the eighth grade. These school years were unique, as his mother was the teacher, and his schoolmates were his siblings. In 1967, the Stuker's expanded their property by buying another ranch with irrigated hay ground eight miles north of Chinook. High school years were spent showing 4-H steers, winning Beef Showmanship and All-Around Showman at the Blaine County Fair.

A 1977 graduate of Montana State University Bozeman with a B.S. in Agricultural Business, Richard worked for the Production Credit Association nearly three years as a loan officer in Wolf Point, Montana. In 1978, Richard married a schoolteacher, Rosemary Matthews. They had two children, Elizabeth, and Donald. The Stuker's moved back to Chinook in 1980 to assist with the family ranch and raise their children. Along with the ranch accounting, Rose continued to teach. Richard and Rose purchased the ranch from John and Fay in 1989. For the past 43 years, they have run up to 550 animal units with a combination of cow/calf pairs and yearling heifers for breeding. In addition to raising cattle, Richard has been planting organic wheat for the last 20 years.

As a fourth generation Montanan, Richard has strong ties to the land and our western way of life. In addition to operating the family ranch, he has volunteered countless hours for his community. In the early 1990s, he attended a grazing meeting in Miles City, Montana, where the Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (FWP) Block Management program was introduced. He immediately saw the benefit to landowners and sportsmen alike. Upon returning home, Richard and his neighbors contacted FWP with a plan to establish the North Blaine Block Management Area. This hunting unit has had up to twelve ranches joined together and is in operation today. Quite often Richard has been asked to serve on a local board which later led to a position at the state level.

Richard completed 19 years on the Chinook school board and served on the Montana School Board Association for eight. He has spent more than 30 years on the local grazing district board, and eleven as a director on the Montana Association of State Grazing Districts. When Richard received the Distinguished Leader Award in 2022, the CEO of Triangle Communications, Craig Gates, said, "Rich is a true servant leader. He is not one to sit back and observe from afar without taking action. He is willing to step up and be a part of the solution." During his lifetime in public service, Richard has researched diligently behind the scenes to ensure that he understands the issues for his vote to be cast in an informed manner.

Richard's reputation and commitment to rural Montana came to the attention of Governor Bullock. The Governor appointed Richard to the FWP Commission in 2013 as a lifelong cattleman experienced in the breeding and management of livestock. After a rigorous interview by the FWP Senate Committee, Richard was overwhelmingly approved by the Senate. Upon completing a four-year term, he was once again appointed and unanimously approved. During his second FWP confirmation hearing, Jay Bodner of the Montana Stockgrowers stated that, "Every community has a few people that everyone wants in their organization and on their boards and Richard is one of those people." Richard was able to have input on topics that included hunting, trapping, and land acquisitions. Additionally, Governor Bullock appointed him to the Private Lands/Public Wildlife Advisory Committee four times starting in 2013. Appointed to the State Grass Commission by Bullock in 2015 and 2018, and by Governor Gianforte in 2021, Richard continues to represent ranchers cooperatively managing federal or state grazing leases with government agencies.

Richards's desire to advocate for others stems from a neighbors kindness when they were gathering cattle. At fourteen years old, he would often ride with a hand resting on the saddle horn. Since Richard usually rode a bronc, his reasoning was to avoid walking for miles if his horse shied or bucked, causing him to part ways with his saddle. On one occasion, riding in this manner did not go unnoticed by several cowboys. Stanley Sands, Richards neighbor and a revered horseman, put an end to the teasing by quietly informing the cowboys that he himself rode in the same manner when necessary. This experience created in Richard a lifelong commitment of advocating for others and our western way of life, ensuring Montana truly remains "the last best place."

References:

The Blaine County Journal, News-Opinion September 7, 2022

Interview with Richard L. Stuker