September 22, 1937
Deloris (Dee) Marshall Adamson was raised on a ranch north of Whitman. Her parents were Carrie and Wayne Marshall. She had one brother, Gordon. From her earliest years, you could always find her working the ranch alongside her family or any activity that included a horse.
She rode her horse to school, drove a team in the hayfield, helped drive cattle cross-country great distances, and still spent her spare time plotting horse adventures. One time in particular, she begged her father relentlessly to take her horse to the local county fair in Mullen, NE, where she wasn’t even entered. He finally gave in and she spent the day on top of the world, playing on her horse. A memory she is very fond of and won’t forget.
She met her husband, Jerry, when she accepted a teaching job in rural Cherry County. They were married in 1960 and raised 4 children: Todd, Tracy, Taylor and Tanya. The family grew to 11 grandchildren, 9 great-grandchildren and counting.
Through the years a constant in Deloris’s life was raising, using and selling good horses. After her children competed in cutting during high school rodeo, Deloris picked up the sport herself. She had success on a variety of horses but by far her favorite horse was Doc’s Puff a Smoke. Dee and Puff a Smoke were a formidable pair at both the Western Nebraska and NCHA cuttings. She turned down numerous offers to sell him and certain competitors weren’t too happy to see the little grey-haired lady pull into the cutting. Deloris was a passionate, professional and successful cutter. She passed that love on and helped numerous people by sharing her horses and her knowledge.
Other than the time period when her children were very small and born quite close together, she made an effort to go ride her horse nearly every day. This was her habit from childhood until 2016 when a bad horse accident in the calving lot shattered her femur. The pain was excruciating. Deloris laid on a picnic table with her grandchildren helping hold her leg. She didn’t even cry while they waited over 2 hours for an ambulance. She nearly bled out on the ride to town. This accident happened when she was 79. The worst part is she lost the ability to go out for her nightly ride.
From time to time she is able to get back on and ride again. One of the most special rides since the accident was when she got to ride the amazing horse she raised named Tad. Deloris named her horse Tad after Tad Lucas, world famous cowgirl from the 1920’s-30’s who was born in Cody, Nebraska. Tad Lucas was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame and the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. The horse Tad was well named and has excelled in barrel racing under Samantha Flannery and is now often seen on the Cowboy Channel excelling in calf-roping with Deloris’s grandson, J.T.
Deloris was the perfect partner for her late husband, Jerry. Jerry was in the limelight, but Deloris was home paying bills, clerking their annual club calf and bull sales and cooking lots of meals for the crew and frequent customers coming to look at cattle. All the contributions that Deloris made to their family, ranch and successful business ventures can’t be listed. However, it’s well been said, “Without Deloris, there is no Jerry.”
Together, Jerry and Deloris very intentionally impacted kids in 4-H, FFA, college judging teams, cutting and rode. They were generous with their time and talents.
Deloris Marshall Adamson has lived a life committed to the cowboy way of life. She exemplifies the traits of honesty, hard-work, and the care of livestock. She has set a high standard for her family and been a great representative for the Nebraska Sandhills and the cowboy heritage.