Stub Louis T. Hill Obituary (1941 - 2016)

Louis Thomas Hill (73) (Stub to most friends and family) passed away 1/27/16 at Banner Del Webb hospital after courageously fighting years of respiratory-lung issues. He was born April 22, 1941 in Bisbee Arizona where he attended school. His mother Mildred and father Louis Hill saw their son go on to the rodeo cowboy world as a champion bull rider out of high school where he also accumulated many cowboy western celebrities as friends--including actors for the TV show Gunsmoke and The Rifleman. After 20 years as a rodeo cowboy Stub moved into the production and administration of professional rodeo. Eventually he managed multimillion dollar projects, rodeos, and was the production manager for The National Finals Rodeo at The Cow Palace in San Francisco, Calif. Stub went on to work for the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA) at the headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He also wrote a column known as "View from this Hill" and is listed a lifetime member of the PRCA. One of his notable columns was about a bull riding cowboy and friend named Freckles Brown. The story of two superstars, Freckles and the bull named Tornado. Brown was the only cowboy of 220 attempts to successfully ride Tornado and he did it at the National Finals Rodeo, 1967. Stub's column spurred country music star Red Steagall to write and sing a song about the ride. The recording did well on the country music charts. Stub, the older cowboy was finally getting restless and was looking for something new to do with his life. He received a special coffee cup from his aunt designed for those with mustaches. The cup was wrapped in newspaper from the classified section of the Arizona Republic. He noticed an ad for a cocktail lounge for sale in Wickenburg Arizona in the newspaper wrapping. After several scouting nights in the bar he purchased The Rancher Bar in February 1995 --and Wickenburg was never the same again. Noted as an excellent guitar player and country minstrel-Stub often jumped up on the stage and sang and played with the band--especially during the countless fund raisers, wakes, and a helping hand for anyone that needed it. He sold the Rancher Bar in December of 2013 and retired. An Elk, Stub's Celebration of Life will be Wednesday February 3 at the Elks Club 11:00a.m. in Wickenburg. Stub out lived his parents, sister Jimmy Ruth Montgomery, brothers David and Bucky Cobb. He is survived by his son Chad and several cousins, nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers please contribute to: Sobriety House 121 Acoma St. Denver Colorado 80223 Or Wickenburg Cops Who Care P.O. Box 20688 Wickenburg, Arizona 85358