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May 12, 1936-Dec. 16, 2020
Angus Bernard Fox, 84,
New Town, died Wednes-
day, December 16, 2020 in
his home under the loving
care of his wife, Ira and
youngest daughter,
Bethany.
Angus was born May
12, 1936, in Elbowoods,
ND to Guy and Grace
(Parshall) Fox. He was a
member of the Prairie
Chicken Clan and a child
of a Flint Knife Clan. He
was educated at the Shell
Creek Day School and El-
bowoods High until the
rising waters of the
Garrison Dam forced him
to finish his senior year as
a Cowboy at Killdeer High
School.
Angus was not only a
cowboy at Killdeer High
but became one of the
most successful cowboys
in the state of North Dako-
ta. His career started
when he was about 14 or
15 at the Fettig Rodeo just
northwest of Killdeer.
They were having a wild
horse race and Buzz
Fredericks asked if he
could ride. Angus said,
"they got the horse down.
I got on, and went this
way, and that way, and
back this way and it was
done. I stayed on and
won. It was the first thing
I ever won in my life."
But it wouldn't be the
last. During his dis-
tinguished rodeo career,
he amassed numerous
championships in both
high school and amateur.
In High School, he won
the 1954 Saddle Bronc
Championship, 1955
Bareback Championship
and Calf Roping Cham-
pionship. He captured the
NDRA Saddle Bronc
Championship 10 times in
1956, 1957, 1959, 1961,
1963, 1967, 1968, 1970,
1972 and 1973. He also
captured the NDRA Bare-
back Championship in
1965 and the All-Around
Championship in 1959. In
the Great Plains Indian
Rodeo Association, he
won the Saddle Bronc
Championship three
times, in 1969, 1970 and
1973. During those years,
his chief rivals for those
championships were his
brother Esley, Ed Hall and
Mervel Hall. When Angus
didn't win it was one of
those rivals, but all close
friends, that took the
championship.
Angus rode collegiately
in 1958 at Dickinson State
College for the rodeo team
consisting of Tex Ap-
pledorn, Dale Jorgenson,
Dale Little Soldier, Pete
Fredericks, his brother Es-
ley Thorton, and himself.
The team captured the
Rocky Mountain Regional
Championship. That win
allowed the team to ride
at the National Champion-ship Rodeo in Colorado
Springs, CO, where they
finished third.
Many who spoke of see-
ing Angus ride, described
his style as more finesse
than brawn. Being in tune
with the horse. Moving as
it moved. Anticipating.
Angus could have
turned pro and went on
the rodeo circuit, but his
sensibility and dedication
to his children and family
kept him in North Dakota
and led to a 40+ year
career in the Bureau of In-
dian Affairs, starting out
as a bus driver in Twin
Buttes in 1962, facilities
maintenance then
management in the 1970s
in Mandaree and New
Town, with him taking
over as Facilities Manager
for all of Fort Berthold in
1980, to his last assign-
ment starting in 1992 as
Agency Administrative
Officer, which included
acting Superintendent of
the Fort Berthold Agency
until his retirement on
June 30, 2003.
After his distinguished
riding career ended, he
was as a rodeo judge for
numerous rodeos includ-
ing the NDRA Finals for
seven years, numerous
high school rodeos and a
collegiate rodeo with his
older brother Esley. He
also did rodeo instruction
for high school and in-
struction for qualifying is-
sues for the Great Plains
Indian Rodeo Association
prior to their finals.
After leaving the rodeo
life, he continued raising
mainly Paint horses as a
member of the American
Paint Horse Association
for many years after his
retirement. His love for
horses started at an early
age when his family lived
in the Shell Creek area.
That love continued
through his rodeo days
and well into retirement
when he would drive
down to his ranch daily to
feed his 30+ head herd.
The sound of his voice
was all his horses needed
to hear to make them
come running.
Once his rodeo career
was over, another passion
he held onto through his
entire adult life started to
ramp up – singing with
the Mandaree Singers.
Angus was always a very
traditional man, serving
as Senior Pallbearer
numerous times as part of
the Hidatsa clan tradi-
tions, as well as writing
numerous honor songs for
individuals throughout
the reservation and
beyond. He could always
be seen at powwows sit-
ting in his pickup or at
the drum listening to his
cassette recorder, getting
ready to sing the song a
donating family was re-
questing for a loved one.
He particularly enjoyed
the camaraderie with his
fellow Mandaree Singers
and everyone on the
Pow-Wow trail. Having
sang with Mandaree
singers Billy Baker, Art
Smith, Finnigan and Nor-
man Baker, Burt Yel-
lowwolf, John Sitting
Crow, Seamore Eagle
Speaker, and his brother
Rex Fox just to name a
few. He was known for
his teasing of young and
old alike, and for his
"Syox (Sioux)" and
"Wong" jokes not once or
twice, but many times,
most times barely manag-
ing to get the joke out be-
fore erupting in laughter.
With all his accom-
plishments, Angus always
remained a very humble
man. When people spoke
of his accomplishments in
rodeo or singing, he was
quick to deflect the praise
for those that served in
the military, to whom he
looked up to including his
brothers Esley, Rex and
Maynard and numerous
relatives.
One of Angus' proudest
moments came when he
was inducted into the
North Dakota Cowboy
Hall of Fame in 2009 in
Medora, having been
nominated by former col-
lege rodeo teammate and
lifelong friend Dale Jor-
genson.
Angus was raised in a
strict Catholic family. He
remained active
throughout his life includ-ing regularly reading dur-
ing mass for Father
Stephen Kranz at St. An-
thony in Mandaree and
later for Father Lukach at
Saint Anthony in New
Town. When he was un-
able to attend church, he
regularly watched it on
TV.
Above all, Angus lived
his life with values he
learned early in life, and
passed down to his chil-
dren, many nieces and
nephews, grandchildren
and others. He under-
stood that actions always
speak louder than words.
The values of responsibil-ity, dependability, punc-
tuality, honesty and keep-
ing your word most times
weren't taught with words
but through the example
he lived on a daily basis.
While his stern teachings
seemed harsh, those les-
sons and examples be-
came crystal clear once
we became adults and
parents.
While he was blessed
with tremendous athletic
talent throughout his life
in whatever sport he
chose, Angus worked
hard at staying in shape
mind and body. Whatever
sport, the pinpoint con-
centration, the determina-tion for improvement, the
hard work was always
there.
When his son Mark
took up golf in high
school, Angus also began
playing. When he was rid-
ing, he used to joke that
he couldn't get what peo-
ple saw in chasing around
a little white ball. He be-
came pretty accomplished
at it. When he wasn't golf-
ing with his boys, Mark,
Bernie and Scott, he was
golfing after work with Ed
Lone Fight and Jimmy
Bluestone to name a few.
In keeping with his
strong Indian traditions,
Angus was a member of
the Kit Fox Society. He
took his uncle Charles
Parshall's position. He
also sang society songs for
the Antelope Society.
Angus is survived by
his wife Ira, New Town;
sons Monte (Pam)
Phoenix, AZ; Mark, Dic-
kinson ND; Bernie (Chris-
tine), New Town; Scott
(Jennifer), Bismarck, ND;
daughters Kimberly,
Omaha, NE; Kerri,
Bismarck, ND; Bethany
(Enos), New Town, ND,
Grandchildren Natalie
Fox, Natasha Fox, Tanner
Fox, Cody Fox, Joelle Fox,
Wyatte Chapin, Cindra
Fox, Devin Fox, Curtis
Fox, Bronc Fox, Delvyn
Fox, Amanda Wilson,
Scott Wilson Jr., Mallory
Wilson, Myles Youngwolf,
Cruz Youngwolf, Garrett
Youngwolf, Jaelee
Youngwolf, Kylee
Youngwolf, Viola Lewis,
Sophie Knight, Eva
Knight, Clarky Knight,
Warren Chase, Brother
Dennis (Sandra) Albu-
querque, NM, Sisters,
Wanda Sheppard, Man-
daree, ND; CA Wolfeyes,
Bismarck, ND; Belinda
Beston, Mandaree, ND;
Arla Muzzy, Mandaree,
ND and Theola Fox, New
Town, ND, and 16
great-grandchildren.
Angus was proceeded
in death by his parents
Guy and Grace Fox;
Brothers Guy Fox Jr, Esley
Thorton, Rex Fox, Thorn-
ton Fox, Maynard Fox,
Gerald Tex Fox, Dean
Fox; Sisters Theresa Fox;
and son Frank Schumach-er.
The family will celebrate
Angus' life privately, in
respect of CDC, North
Dakota, and Mandan Hi-
datsa Arikara Nation CO-
VID-19 guidelines.
Public Graveside Ser-
vice and Interment: Mon-
day, December 21, 2020 at
Noon at St. Anthony
Catholic Cemetery, Man-
daree (A boxed lunch will
be available after burial.
Giveaway will be reserved
for the memorial later.)
(Langhans Funeral
Home, Parshall www.
langhansfuneral
home.com)