Wise County Fire Marshal Jeff Doughty confirmed to the Messenger Wednesday that the death and fire investigations involving rodeo legend Roy Cooper remain active. Cooper, 69, was found dead after a fire at his house in the 600 block of County Road 3051 near Decatur April 30. FILE | WCMESSENGER
A fire at rodeo legend Roy Cooper’s house in the 600 block of 3051 near Decatur broke out at about 7 p.m. April 30., according to Wise County Fire Marshal Jeff Doughty. The blaze and Cooper’s death both remain under investigation. FILE | WCMESSENGER
Investigators are continuing their inquiry into the death of Roy Cooper following a fire at the rodeo legend’s Wise County home in April.
Wise County Fire Marshal Jeff Doughty confirmed to the Messenger Wednesday that both the death and fire investigations remain active.
“We’re still investigating, [but] we’ve got more information now,” Doughty said. “It still looks accidental, but we’re not going to release more until we’re positive.”
The fire was reported shortly after 7 p.m. at the ProRodeo hall of famer and former all-around rodeo world champion’s home in the 600 block of County Road 3051. The large, one-story home was fully engulfed when Wise County EMS and Decatur Fire Department crews arrived on scene.
The Wise County Fire Marshal’s Office is leading the investigation into the fatal fire. The Tarrant County Arson Task Force assisted initially due to the scale of the incident, officials said. The Wise County Sheriff’s Office also assisted in a support capacity.
Originally from Hobbs, N.M., Cooper burst onto the rodeo scene by capturing the PRCA calf-roping world championship in 1976, his rookie season. He continued his rodeo dominance throughout the 80s, winning four consecutive PRCA calf-roping titles from 1980-1984 and was the all-around world champion in 1983.
Known as “Super Looper” for his calf-roping skills, the eight-time World Champion Tie-Down Roper continued to rodeo into the 2000s on a part-time basis and was retired by 2016. He received honors from several Texas and Oklahoma-based rodeo halls of fame for his storied career.
In Decatur, Cooper became the patriarch of a dynasty in the sport that some considered the “first family of rodeo.” His sons — Clint, Clif and Tuf — followed in his footsteps and became the first trio of brothers to compete at the 2010 NFR tie-down roping event, achieving several more individual successes, including PRCA world championships and NFR titles.
Cooper’s stepdaughter, Shada, is married to fellow ProRodeo Hall of Famer Trevor Brazile, who has the most PRCA World Championships of all time with 26.
A memorial service for Cooper was held May 26 inside the Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, bringing together family and friends such as country music legend George Strait, country singer Tanya Tucker and bull riding world champion Ty Murray. Country music legend Reba McIntire also recorded a video honoring Cooper’s life.
“[Roy] was my hero,” Strait said in his eulogy. “We shared a lot of good and bad times together. He didn’t hang out with me, I hung out with him… Roy was one of the ones they made that saying about, that they broke the mold when they made him — they sure did.”
Messenger editor Austin Jackson contributed to this report.
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