R. Vance Bagley

R. Vance Bagley was born October 30, 1954 in Fairview, Wyoming,to loving parents Lorain and Geraldine Bagley. He passed away on January 24, 2020, at the age of 65 in Afton, Wyoming. Vance lived his
whole life in Fairview, Wyoming. He was the fifth of six children, and spent his childhood helping on the family ranch on Crow Creek. He spent many hours muddying the water of Crow Creek fishing and swimming. He was
on a horse as soon as his legs were long enough to straddle one. When he was still quite young, he commented to his Grandma Ranzenberg, “Gloria, thinks she’s smart cause she can write from 1 to 50, but she can’t ride a
horse without a bridle.” Obviously, he could. He attended elementary school in Osmond. While at Star Valley High School, he played basketball and even played in a state championship game. Vance remained friends
with these teammates and school buddies his entire life. As a teenager, he worked in the hunting camps with his mom and dad for quite a few years.

He graduated from Star Valley High School and seminary in 1974. Vance married his first wife, Cindy Taylor, in June of 1974. They had three daughters: Christy, Kacee, and Jenna. They built a home on Crow Creek, and he worked for Ray Hall on the Box Ranch and cut meat for Layle Nield at Nield’s Market. Later, they divorced. He then married  Barbara Lee in December of 1985, and they had two daughters, Marianne and Rebecca. They lived on the Box Ranch for several years where the girls enjoyed a wonderful childhood that included memories with their three older sisters. But this marriage also ended. When the Box Ranch sold, Vance worked odd jobs as a ranch hand and for Everett Peterson and the Madsens on the Wagon Train and hunting camps in the Jackson area. He loved meeting people from all over the world while he worked these jobs. In fact, Vance met his next wife, Karen Wunderlich while working on Wagon Train in 2000. About this time he went to work for West Hills Ranch in Fairview. Vance and Karen were married for five years. He then married Angie Elder and welcomed her five
children into his family. But they too divorced. He was single at the time of his death.

Adding to his ranching jobs, Vance went to work for Brent Stewart. He traveled to Nevada for the winter to help with the ranching
responsibilities there, and would return to the Valley to fence and care for the Stewart cattle up Crow Creek and in Wayan, Idaho. Many happy
memories were made fencing and working cattle with Brent. He loved to  invite visitors to come over to Wayan where he entertained them with his
cooking and stories. Vance enjoyed adding to his home away from home at Wayan—installing a shower, running water to his “sink”, an outdoor kitchen area, etc. Some joked that he spent more time with his projects than with the cows. When Hank, Vance’s son-in-law, took over the fencing job, it took five buckets of staples instead of Vance’s one to do the spring fencing.

Vance struggled with diabetes most of his adult life. The last few  years were especially hard as more health issues complicated his life. It
got to the point that he could no longer do the thing he loved—be a cowboy. He was in and out of hospitals a lot. A good portion of his last
year was spent in a rehabilitation center in Bountiful, Utah for respiratory problems. However, his last few months were at home on Crow Creek
where he enjoyed visits from friends and family. Vance was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
He was proceeded in death by his parents, Lorain and Geraldine Bagley; brother-in law Kim Titensor (Cindy) and sister-in-law Linda Bagley (Darnell). He is survived by his siblings: Darnell of Evanston; Kdell (Cheryl)
of Fairview; Shauna (Ronny) Hyde of Auburn; Cindy Titensor of Evanston; and Lanae (Blake) Jacobson of Irwin, Idaho. Also surviving are his five daughters: Christy (Scott) Johnson of Tennessee, Kacee Bagley (Brie
Quigley) of Colorado, Jenna (Ben) Hull of Nevada, Marianne (Hank) Kerr of Fairview, and Rebecca Bagley of Afton, and 7 grandsons and 2 granddaughters.