Joseph Jean Bidondo passed away Feb. 4, with his beloved Sadie by his side. Joe had just celebrated his 77th birthday. He was born on Jan. 17, 1948, in the small village of Anhaux, deep in the Basque region of the Pyrenees-Atlantiques region of France. His parents, Jean and Marie Bidondo, had eight children, Joe being the oldest.
Clever but rambunctious, Joe disliked school and, at the tender age of 14, decided to join his Uncle John in America. Very much against the idea, his parents locked Joe in his room to keep him from making the flight his uncle had arranged for him. Joe was somehow able to escape and didn’t look back.
Like many young Basques of the time, he came to America to find work as a sheep herder. His uncle was able to get Joe a job first in Buffalo and not long after he transitioned to working for some of the larger sheep ranchers in Uinta County. He was good at the job and, because he could speak multiple languages, he helped manage and coordinate other sheep herders.
He fell in love with vast wilderness areas where he ran the sheep and for a time didn’t mind the long stretches of isolation. When he had time off, he would meet up with other Basque immigrants and drink wine and swap stories.
One night out while “shaking a leg” (dancing) he met Sheryl Danielson, and they became inseparable for the next 30 years. Joe decided that having a more traditional job better suited his young family and got a job working in the trona mines, so the family relocated to Bridger Valley.
Joe didn’t like working underground and went to work for Ray Cook for a few years and the family moved to the McKinnon area. This was not a good fit either, so Joe decided to try his hand at working as a roughneck in the booming oil industry. Joe liked the work and stayed in the industry until he retired.
During this time, Joe stayed busy trying his hand at being a business owner and rancher. All the while his wife, Sheryl, was his right-hand man supporting and facilitating Joe in all his endeavors. When she passed away suddenly in the winter of 1999, Joe was devastated.
Joe tried several times to return to his family in France but could never stay away very long. He would always return to his heart, his home in Evanston.
Joe was well known and a notoriously wicked storyteller, always making people laugh at his antics. His love of the wide open and wild areas of southwestern Wyoming never diminished.
Though his health failed him in his later years, he still loved taking long drives in his pickup truck and letting his dogs out to run. His warm smile and generous spirit left an indelible mark on all who had the pleasure of knowing him.
Joseph is survived by his children, Paul and Amy; his granddaughters, Meagan, Julia, Kira, Emily, Arynn, Avery and his hero and best friend, Kalli and her boys, Bryton and Myles; special friends, numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins in France; and last, but definitely not least, his dog, Sadie. They will all miss him dearly.
There will be a memorial service and open house from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 9, at the Bear Pavillion next to the Bear Ice Ponds in Evanston.
Joseph’s legacy of love, kindness and dedication will continue to inspire all who knew him. May he rest in peace.
