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The following information was gleaned and portions reprinted in their entirety from an article written by The Chronicle’s then-editor and publisher Bruce A. Wilson. It appeared in the Nov. 30, 1972 issue.

By Alex Paul
Chronicle staff

     Arnie Will was considered by many to be the best left-handed roper to compete at the Omak Stampede in the 1930s and 1940s. He competed vigorously throughout the West from 1938 until gas was rationed during World War II.
     After the war, Will competed in weekend rodeos and raised cattle on a ranch near Loomis.
     He was especially adept at bulldogging and calf-roping.
     Will died Nov. 13, 1972, at Mid-Valley Hospital, Omak. He was 61.
     “A widely known cattle rancher, Will was the sort of man Okanogan County had been made for,” Wilson wrote. “He needed open spaces, rugged country and fine working horses. He was a cowboy’s cowboy.”
     Will was born Jan. 7, 1911, in Douglas County, where his grandfather had settled in 1885. In 1917, he moved with his family to the south half of the Colville Indian Reservation.
     His father was a mail carrier and rancher. Will grew up on the family ranch. He attended Omak High School and, at age 17, entered his first rodeo at Cheney. He reportedly “missed his first calf by a mile.” But soon, he began to win.
     In his early 20s, Will traveled to numerous shows throughout the Northwest. He spent many hours practicing roping near the family’s log home on the reservation.
     During the winter, he weaved horse blankets and braided rawhide bridles and reins.
     In 1939 he married Dorothy Rinker of Loomis, herself an expert horsewoman and a champion rider.
     In 1940, the couple bought a ranch on Sinlahekin Creek south of Loomis and began raising cattle.
     He was a standard feature at the Pendleton Roundup, and at rodeos in Ellensburg, Walla Walla, Lewiston, Puyallup and elsewhere.
     Newspaper headlines told story after story about Will’s successes. For example, “Arnie Will of Omak tied his calf in 19 seconds to take top money here despite the fact that his horse slipped and fell on the wet ground just as he roped the fleeing calf.”
     Will won the Stampede’s calf roping championship six times — 1941, 1943, 1945, 1946, 1948, and 1953. He also won the bulldogging titles in 1935, 1944 and 1945.
     He held the Stampede’s bulldogging record of 4.4 seconds for many years, until it was cut to 3.7 seconds by Rocky Rockabar of Alberta, Canada, in 1960.
     In 1948, Will shared the Stampede all-around title with Wilf Gerltz of Cochrane, Alberta.
     He later served as the Stampede’s arena director and until August 1972, also helped at the front of the chutes.
     He was presented with a special silver belt buckle in 1964 for his years of dedication to Stampede.
     After selling his cattle herd, Will planted an orchard and loved to hunt and fish. He was a life member of the Rodeo Cowboys of America.
     Will’s widow, Dorothy, 89, lives in Omak and said her husband, “lived for each show. He loved the many different events. He was definitely a sportsman.”
     Their daughter, LaWanda, and husband Bill Jones live south of Okanogan and their son, Garry, and wife, Shirley live near Loomis.
     Of Will’s four grandchildren, three have competed at the American Junior Quarter Horse Association World Show in Tulsa, Okla.: 1985, Sterling Jones, Okanogan; 1987, Nicki Will Chism, Spokane, and 1992, Dorian Jones, Okanogan.