Mathew Chance Loomis

Mathew Chance Loomis

A Cowboy’s Cowboy

Born May 23, 1990 – Passed July 23, 2022

Mathew was born in McCall to Frank and Christy Loomis, joining his older brother Dustin their family was complete.

Born into a ranching family, Mathew was a cowboy from the get-go, always preferring to wear his black wrangler jeans, black hat and cowboy boots no matter the occasion.

So much in fact that Matt would often pee his “good” pants so that he could be allowed to wear his preferred attire, much to the chagrin of his mother.

He was so eager to be like his dad and grandfather Mathew began pestering his parents for his own horse. By age 3-1/2 years he got his first pony and gladly joined in the ranch work.

He seemed a natural cowboy. By age 5 he and his brother got their first lariats, a blue one for Matt and a red one for his brother. He would spend hours practicing roping, even when he was supposed to be helping brand in the spring. He wanted to be as good as his elders.

True to the cowboy nature, Matt began spinning yarns in first grade, telling his teacher that his family did not need plates and silver wear as his mom would simply “spread the chow out on the floor.” From there the stories got taller as he grew up, as did his sense of humor

He began mechanicing on his own motorcycles and snow machines in his early teens and would often burn the midnight oil working on his rides and his friends rides so to be ready for the next adventure.

It was that craving for adventure that motivated Matt. He and his brother would spend summer vacation in Idaho’s back country helping his dad and uncles with Forest Service contracts of all sorts that required a pack team to complete.

At summer’s end his mom would travel to the back country to fetch up the boys and get them ready tor the coming school year. This was always and adventure for her, because she had to search out the spot the boys would be hiding in when they knew she was coming and then have to listen to the complaining and reasoning why they should be allowed to stay in the back country.

Most of the reasons were sound, however, as their dad and uncle needed fish and fresh meat every day which the two were qualified to provide, according to them. Both enjoyed hunting and fishing very much.

After graduation, Dustin purchase a dozen or so bucking bulls and began supplying rodeos with bucking stock. Dustin, needing a few additional riders for a gig in Cascade, offered a spot to Matt and he became enamored with the sport, even though his performance was average at first.

True to the cowboy code, Matt didn’t give up and became determined to master the techniques of negotiating his way to the eight second time on the back of a 1,400 pound beast with a bad attitude about the excess luggage on its back.

He did it by the time he was seventeen when he joined the Idaho cowboy Association. In 2014 Matt, was Pro West Bull Riding Champion and Reserve Champion the following year. He was also reserve champion of the ICA in 2014. He did this despite a severe head injury he received in 2013 at a rodeo in Carey, Idaho.

Matt soon became well known and liked in the rodeo world, making new friends daily it seemed. Matt would often say “I’ve never met a stranger I didn’t like.”

And that was obvious as he always brought home new friends who needed a “leg up” and all remain friends to the family today. He indeed was the life of any party and brought many together as if a diplomat.

Matt continued in the cowboy way, making a living roping, branding, and driving cattle for many locals, as well as mending fencing, repairing vehicles. And on the weekends that he didn’t work, you would find him and a friend in roping competitions or helping local kids with rodeoing talents.

On July 23, 2022, this cowboy’s heart of gold stopped beating after suffering a seizure that deprived him of oxygen for much too long.

Some say it was ironic that day was National Cowboy Day, we think it was appropriate. Matt will live on and continue to selflessly help other as he donated his organs so that others can live. Happy Trails to Matt!

He is preceded in death by his grandparents, Myron and Barbra Loomis and Paul Pappas.

Mathew is survived by his father, Frank Loomis; his mother, Christy Pappas and his companion and brother Dustin; his daughter, Sonora, age 3 months; and Sonora’s mother, Alicia Bateman; his grandmother, Carol Killian, as well as many cousins, uncles and aunts.

Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m., Saturday, August 6, 2022 in Donnelly Bible Church with Rev. Tom Penry officiating.  Burial will follow in the Holmes Cemetery.

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