Meryle "Tex" Lyle Junker

Meryle (Tex) Lyle Junker passed away peacefully at the age of 91 in the comfort of his home on March 30, 2026.

The second of nine children, Tex was born July, 17, 1934, on a family farm outside of Glenham, SD to Mathilda Heimbuch Junker and Adolph Junker.

From a young age, Tex loved horses and rodeo, and he began competing in bareback riding as a teenager. He soon moved on to bull riding, which resulted in many injuries. The first time he broke his ribs, he stubbornly refused to allow them to be set, which caused a deformity that never failed to amaze health care providers later in his life – they would always remark they had never seen anything like it and bring in others to marvel at his ribs. He was also asked to play basketball in high school, even though he didn’t know much about the sport. In his first game, he infamously scored a basket… but it was unfortunately for the opposing team. Needless to say, he chose to stick with rodeo!

After graduating from Amherst High School in 1952, Tex set off for southwest Montana to work on the Matador Ranch, once calving out 200 head of cattle by himself to earn money to pay for his rodeo entry fees. He then worked at the Padlock Ranch south of Sheridan, WY, before heading back to South Dakota to attend South Dakota State College in Brookings, where he became one of the first cowboys to help form the Inter-Collegiate Rodeo. He transferred to Black Hills Teachers College in Spearfish, SD, and joined the Army Reserves, before enlisting in the Army in 1955. He continued to compete in rodeos, storing his western clothes in his car as he was not permitted civilian clothes on base. After two years, he was discharged and moved to Strong City, KS, where he met up with his second family, the Robertses. They convinced him to switch to saddle bronc riding in order to reduce the strain on his body, which allowed him to continue competing professionally as a member of the Rodeo Cowboy Association, which became the PRCA.

Tex traveled throughout several states rodeoing, and eventually, with his two-year-old daughter, Shelli, in tow, he moved to Colorado, where he met the love of his life, Susan (Sue) Anderson. They married in 1963 and went on to welcome three more daughters – Kelli, Casey and Tracy. Tex and Sue raised their four beautiful girls in Wheat Ridge, CO, and he rode saddle broncs until 1982, competing for the last time at the Old Timers Rodeo in Loveland, CO and the Flint Hills Rodeo in Strong City, KS. In 1988, he earned the prestigious PRCA Gold Card, which is exclusively presented to cowboys who compete professionally for more than 25 years.

While living in Wheat Ridge, Tex began raising Quarter Horses and working as an electrician. He retired from Public Service of Colorado after 35 years of service, and he and Sue moved to Roggen, CO in 2000. For the next several decades, he enjoyed raising horses, memorizing and reciting cowboy poetry, and attending as many rodeos as he possibly could.

Tex is survived by his wife, Sue; four daughters, Shelli (Chuck) Guetz, Kelli (Mike) Fries, Casey Junker, and Tracy (Rick) Novak; eight grandchildren, Chelsea (Jaime) Hixson, Kyle (Nicole) Gould, Kayla Davis, Chandler (Brandon) Wamsley, Kole (Rachael) Davis, Jenna Novak, Colter Tex Junker, and Gunner Novak; siblings, Elura (Doyle) Burdine, Sandra (Jim) Brown, and Dean (Debbie) Junker; nine greatgrandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Mathilda and Adolph Junker; and siblings, Sherwin (Janie) Junker, Leland Junker, Clarion (Phyllis) Junker, Joan (Vince) Mies, and Norna (Terry) Ochs.

Services will be held on April 11, 2026, at 10:30 a.m., at Christ Community Church, located at 11102 County Road 73 in Roggen, CO. Interment will follow at Heart of the Plains Cemetery, and then a fellowship lunch at the church. Attendees are asked to wear purple, Tex’s favorite color. In lieu of flowers, the family invites memorial gifts to the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund at justincowboycrisisfund.org.

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