Frank Lee Martinez

Frank Lee Martinez was born in Ocate, New Mexico to Lee and Ester Martinez on October 15, 1935.

Frank was the oldest of six children and his cowboy days started at a young age when he was 9 years old.  He would saddle the horses and head out to the mountains to take care of the cows at the Moreno Ranch in Eaglenest, New Mexico.

As a teenager Frank and Billy Heck roped and hung a black bear that had been killing livestock.  In 1954, when Frank turned 18 years old, he moved to Wyoming with his family.

Frank worked for the Arapahoe Ranch for a few years and then joined the Army spending the next 2 years in Korea.  When he came back from Korea he went back to the Arapahoe Ranch where he met and married Shirley in 1960.

He didn’t do much rodeoing in his lifetime and preferred being at the ranch doing real cowboy work.  In 1963 Frank and Shirley moved to the Hoodoo Ranch in Cody, Wyoming where Frank was the cow foreman until 1968.

Through the ensuing years, Frank worked for the Matador Cattle Company, Antler Ranch, Bar-T-L Ranch, and LU Ranch.  In 1984 Frank and family moved to Alcova where he was the manager of Rattle Snack Grazing Association.  He remained there until he passed away on August 27, 1990 of an unknown virus.