William Arthur (Art) Bunting

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William Arthur Bunting, a life-long resident of Pritchett, Colorado, died on March 31, 2024, surrounded by his family at his home, at the age of 99.

Arthur was born on September 3, 1924, to Frederick & Drusilla Bunting on the farm and ranch southwest of Pritchett.  He attended 1st through 9th grade at Sunderland School.  The nearest high school was Pritchett High School.  With Pritchett being 25 miles away, he had to find room and board closer to town.  He lived with and worked for Ole Grahn’s family for some time and also worked at the dairy.  He then got a job working for Floyd and Ada Kirkendall.  He spent the rest of his high school years working for the Kirkendall’s, mostly helping with their sheep herd. They became like a second family to him.  Arthur still enjoyed it when Kristi would send him photos of sheep on the western slope.

In 1952 Arthur’s cousin invited him to the movies.  Unbeknownst to him she had also invited Margaret Fay Allen.  His cousin was right, they were a good match.  On September 15, 1952, they eloped, joined by a small group of family members, to Raton, NM.  They were married just shy of 68 years.  To this union was born 3 children.  Bill in 1955, Judy in 1957, and Kristi in 1972.  Arthur spent most of his life working on the farm and ranch that his father homesteaded in 1916.  After high school, he never lived more than 10 miles from where he was born.

Arthur was a member of the Pritchett Grazing Association for 27 years.  He was on the Pritchett School Board for several years as well as the Springfield Cemetary Board.  Arthur was on the Baca County Fair and Rodeo Board for over 40 years.  He loved to help the kids of Baca County.  He and Margaret were also avid fans of Pritchett School.  No matter what event was being held at the school, Art and Margaret were there.  They were usually one of the first to arrive and one of the last to leave--always pitching in to set up, tear down, cook in concessions, whatever needed to be done.  In addition, Arthur was also a participant in the Kenton Easter Pageant for over 50 years.  When he got too old to climb the hill, he helped behind the scenes and later he just enjoyed going to practice each Sunday in the spring and attending the Pageant to see old friends and enjoy the show from the comfort of the pickup.

Arthur enjoyed trips to hunt and fish.  He once shot a deer up and over the mountain and he and Bill had to make multiple trips to haul it back to camp over rough terrain.  When asked about it recently he said, “I wasn’t as smart back then.”

Arthur loved to read the Fence Post publication.  Each time it arrived you knew that you would not be getting anything from him until he had read it from cover to cover.

Arthur is survived by son Bill (Cheryl) Bunting, daughter Judy Bunting, and daughter Kristi (Kyle) Boydstun.  He is also survived by two grandsons, one granddaughter, two bonus grandsons, one bonus granddaughter, seven bonus great grandchildren, and a host of family and friends.  A celebration of life is scheduled for 10:30 am on April 6, 2024, at the Pritchett School Auditorium.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Baca County Fair & Rodeo.