Bear always joked that he wanted his obituary to simply read “Ted Is Dead,” but we wanted to tell you about our brother.

As the son of Tom and Bernice (Renner) McWhorter, both from local ranching families, Ted came naturally to a simple life filled with good family, life-long friends, and a genuine love of ranching and animals. He was a unique, funny, clever, independent guy with a lot of horse sense. He had a lion heart that showed in his commitment to his parents, family, friends and his devotion to his loyal McNab companions. He was never without his dogs near by.

Rodeo was in Bear’s DNA. His grandfather Henry McWhorter was a founding member of the Fortuna Rodeo and his father was on the board for fifty years. His love of the rodeo started early when he and his sister Donna were Prince and Princess of the rodeo at 5 and 4 years old. Growing up he spent many long hours in the summer helping his dad prepare the arena and later took over that job. He loved his time behind the wheel of the tractor, often with one of his nephews, getting the ground ready for the cowboys. In his teens and twenties, Ted could be seen trying his luck at bull riding and bulldogging. Eventually, he became chute boss for the West Coast Rodeo Company. He enjoyed working with the cantankerous bulls but it didn’t always go smoothly, more than once he was kicked by his “charges.”

Working rodeos was a win-win for Bear, it combined his love of animals and people in a truly unique way.

Something that goes along with this cowboy way of life was his love of his country. Ted was a very smart man who kept himself informed on national and international issues. He loved to discuss politics with anyone who would listen and sometimes with people who really didn’t want to. He enjoyed challenging people to look at the world from different points of view. Sparking a lively conversation made him chuckle.

Music was a big part of Ted’s life. He played and collected guitars and sang with a beautiful baritone voice, on occasion. His sound system and his huge array of all types of vinyls gave him great pleasure. He enjoyed the subtleties of the recording in their original form.

Collecting family memorabilia and stories was also something important to him, it went along with his connecting with extended family. He had a special relationship with many of his cousins, aunts and uncles. Every Wednesday afternoon for years he would get a maple bar and a lottery ticket to take to Auntie Kay’s house to spend a few hours of laughter with his Godmother.

One of the things Ted always said was that if he won the lottery he would start a horse rescue sanctuary. It is appropriate that, should you want to donate in his name, you give to Lost Soles Horse Rescue in Arcata (lostsoleshorserescue.org). A celebration of his life will take place in June at the rodeo grounds in Fortuna.

Brother Bear will be sorely missed by his five sisters, Pat, Carol, Donna, Kathleen, and Ellie and their families. His dog Addie will miss him terribly but is being loved by family. We like to think that he will indeed get his wish and come back as one of Ellie’s dogs! Ted had a good life, a simple life, a life filled with love of country, animals, friends and family.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Bear McWhorter’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.