Norman Henry Richie was born March 23, 1933 in Green River, Wyoming to Everett J. "Ebb" Richie and Ellen Williams Richie. He joined an older sister, Verla Sommers and older brother, Jeptha.  He went to school at the Big Sandy School until it was closed in 1943. His parents had bought the Allen Place on Eastfork, so the family moved there enabling the boys to attend the Olson School. They also went to the Boulder School and Pinedale School. Norm didn't want to go to school anymore, so when he finished 8th grad his father told him if he didn't go back to school he would have to go to Muddy and feed cows all winter by himself. That is what he did for over 60 years. But make no mistake, Norm had a quiet intelligence and missed nothing that went on around him.

Norm grew up cowboying. He was either riding horses or calves or working goats on a wagon or sled. Norm was a good saddle bronc rider. He had filled his permit and had his PRCA card but then his dad died. At 22 years, he had to come home and help his brother run the ranch but Norm continued to ride the broncs in the local rodeos. He became a judge for the bareback and saddle bronc riding events at the local rodeos and he enjoyed judging at the Indian rodeos in Lander. I am not sure that is all Norm enjoyed in Lander.

Norm liked Morgan horses because they have more stamina in the mountains. Not only could Norm ride saddle broncs and break horses, he was an excellent teamster. He loved to drive his four-horse teams feeding in the winter. One year, he and Merrill Dana tried a five-horse hitch to pull a sod boat full of hay to feed the cows because so much snow had melted, and the field was a lake.

No one else knew the Forest Service Silver Creek Grazing Allotment like Norm. He was the cow boss for over 30 years but started riding there when he was old enough to go. Norm understood range monitoring in his own way and how to make sure the range was ready for cows and not over grazed. He used his "beer can" method: bring the cows to the allotment when the grass is as tall as a beer can and take the cows off when the grass is grazed to the height of a tipped-over beer can. Norm also knew the good fishing holes, historical sites and scenic views.  When old age made the rides on the mountain too difficult, he spent days riding Richie's cattle on the dessert across Big Sandy. It was a closer trip to camp (the horse trailer).

Anyone who knows the Richies can tell you that they loved a good Hereford cowherd. Norm was not shy telling folks he liked the disposition of the Herefords better than the black cows. Norm loved to go to bull sales. It was a passion of his. Norm's favorite book was a Hereford bull catalog. He was an excellent judge of bulls and very aware of what needed to be checked on each bull. He liked to watch them walk on dirt especially rocks to see how they travel and how their legs, hocks, ankles, and feet work.  When Norm's new bulls got home, he called the neighbors and the relatives to check out his new blood lines.

Norm and his family's legacy has not only been defined in their cows, but stories of gathering large desert horse herds, cutter races, and bronc rides are just a few more. Maybe most important is what good neighbors they are, and how much their neighbors look to them for leadership and honesty. Jep and Norm received the Top Breeder Award 2008 at the Sublette County Fair.  Norm was inducted into the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2016.  Norm considered Jep and Verla's kids as his kids, Jonita and Albert Sommers and Carole, Lynne and Eb Richie.  Norm treated them with special Christmas gifts and pack trips to the mountains.  A few years ago through 23andMe along with ancestry.com he was gifted a daughter, Jamie Brewer.  Jamie came into his life after Norm's stroke. The communication was difficult but they had a special relationship. Norm Richie passed away on May 18, 2023 at the Sublette Center in Pinedale.