Jo Decker (born March 30, 1925–November 5, 2010) was inducted into the

ProRodeo Hall of Fame The ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy was opened in August 1979 as a museum designed to "preserve the legacy of the cowboy contests, the heritage and culture of those original competitions, and the champions of the past, pr ...

in 2001.

Life

Jo Decker was born Jo Ramsey on March 30, 1925, in

San Angelo, Texas San Angelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tom Green County, Texas, United States. Its location is in the Concho Valley, a region of West Texas between the Permian Basin to the northwest, Chihuahuan Desert to the southwest, Osage Plai ...

. Decker and her brother Jack were born twins. They both had chores to do on the family ranch. She was gifted with horses and ranch life. Her family had ranches in other states so they traveled a lot. In their free time, she and her brother rode goats and horses. Just after graduating high school, Decker became one of the "Ranch Sponsor Girls" at the

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

Rodeo in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1944. She was asked again two years later. She married professional rodeo competitor Tater Decker, who was an

all-around The All-Around is an award given to a rodeo competitor who is most successful in two or more events. Most individual rodeos and championships determine the winner of this award at the conclusion of the other events or championships. Championshi ...

cowboy in 1946. They had a son, Dirk Decker.

Career

Decker was an accomplished horsewoman. She could out-diagnose the local veterinarian. At the first National Finals Rodeo in 1959, she was involved in many roles, including flag carrier, organizing, and production coordinating. Throughout her rodeo career, she worked as a rodeo secretary for some of the most notable stock contractors in the business. They included the Beutler Brothers, Harry Vold, Mike Cervi, and Hoss Inman. She filled the secretary position at the

National Finals Rodeo The National Finals Rodeo (NFR) is the premier rodeo event by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). The NFR showcases the talents of the PRCA's top 15 money-winners in the season for each event. The NFR is held each year in the fi ...

6 times. She was very successful as a rodeo secretary as she encompassed many of the qualities needed for the position. Decker was an active competitor in rodeo in the 1940s and 1950s.

Honors

* 1999 Tad Lucas Award of the

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 American West, Western and Native Americans in the United States, American Indian art works and Artifact (archaeology), ar ...

* 2000

Rodeo Hall of Fame The Rodeo Hall of Fame was established by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in 1955. Located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., the Hall was created to celebrate the contributions of cowboys and cowgirls from around the world. The ha ...

of the

*Tater was inducted in 1992 * 2000 Colorado Springs

Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo The Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo is a rodeo that takes place in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States every July. It was sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) for many years. However, from 2014 to 2017, it was unsancti ...

Hall of Fame * 2003

Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame The Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame is a museum and hall of fame in Fort Worth, Texas, dedicated to the sport of rodeo. History This hall of fame was founded by Johnny Boren. Also contributing to the foundation were a group of Belton, Texas, bu ...

Death

The Taters lived on their ranch in

Clayton, Oklahoma Clayton is a town in northern Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 821 at the 2010 census. History Clayton was formerly known as Dexter. A United States Post Office was established at Dexter, Indian Territory on Marc ...

prior to Tater's death and Decker's transfer to a nursing home. According to her son, Decker died on Friday, November 5, 2010. She was at the nursing home where she was a resident, Talihina Manor in

. Decker was a native of

. She was 85 years old when she died of natural causes.

References

External sources

2001 ProRodeo Hall of Fame Inductee Jo Decker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Decker, Jo 1925 births 2010 deaths Ranchers from Texas Ranchers from Oklahoma People from San Angelo, Texas ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductees