ProRodeo Hall of Fame member Roy Cooper, known in the rodeo world as “The Super Looper,” died in a house fire at his North Texas home on Tuesday (April 29), according to ABC affiliate WFAA. He was 69 years old.
The Wise County Messenger reports that Wise County EMS and the Decatur Fire Department responded to the scene shortly after 7PM on Tuesday and discovered Cooper’s large one-story home “engulfed in flames.”
Cooper was found dead inside the home. No one else was injured in the blaze. An investigation into the fire is ongoing this week.
Cooper’s son Tuf Cooper shared a brief statement on Facebook, confirming his death. “We’re all in shock and at a loss for words from this tragedy at the moment,” the statement reads.
A professional rodeo performer who competed in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) for two decades, Cooper won the All-Around world championship in 1983, the PRCA’s Rookie of the Year Award in 1976 and six Tie-Down Roping championships over the course of his career.
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He was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in the Tie-Down Roping category in 1979, and his nickname, “The Super Looper,” came from his ability in that arena.
Cooper was also a friend of George Strait‘s. The King of Country remembered his late rodeo friend with a social media post on Wednesday (April 30), describing Cooper as his “hero.”
“He’s with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ now. God please be with the Cooper family and friends,” Strait writes. “We’ll miss you amigo. I’ll come find you one day.”
According to the Wise County Messenger, the PRCA also released a statement in tribute to Cooper on Tuesday night.
“The PRCA and rodeo community mourns the passing of ProRodeo Hall of Famer Roy Cooper in a house fire this evening,” the statement says. “Our thought and prayers are with his family.”
In addition to his son Tuf, Cooper is survived by two more sons, Clif and Clint, as well as his wife Shari Smith Cooper.
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