08/29/2026
Arthur Terence "Terry" McGinley, 91, of Bandera, TX, went to join his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on August 17, 2026. Terry was born on May 9th, 1935, in Alliance, NE, then taken home in the loving arms of his parents, George McGinley Jr. and wife Ada (Forsyth) to the family ranch near Keystone, NE.
Terry attended Keystone grade school where he would often ride his pony the mile and a half to school. Terry attended Ogallala High School and graduated with the class of 1952. He then attended college at Colorado A&M in Ft. Collins, CO, and was a member of the rodeo team. He won the Colorado A&M all-around cowboy buckle in 1954, a feat he was always proud of. After a few years of college Terry decided on a career as a rancher and went home to be groomed to take over management of the George McGinley Ranch Company.
Terry married Christine Imm in 1961 at St. Luke’s Catholic Church in Ogallala, NE. They had three children, Jesse James, George Mace and Cody Christine. In later years Terry and Chris would sell the family ranch and semi-retire to the Phoenix area where Chris passed away in 2002 shortly before her 60th birthday. Terry continued living in the Phoenix area for several more years before eventually moving to Texas to be closer to his adult children.
Terry gained a reputation as one of the best horse trainers in the history of western Nebraska and was also well known in Wyoming and eastern Colorado, where he won numerous equestrian events at the Denver Stock Show, the Wyoming State Fair and Omaha's Aksarben Rodeo, among others. He was especially known for training top notch steer roping horses and was often the first call steer ropers made when they needed a good competition horse. Terry started out as a calf roper in his early years but switched his focus to professional steer roping in later years and had much success in the event. He won the Steer Roping at the famed Pendleton Round-Up in 1979 and won the same event at Cheyenne Frontier Days in 1981. Terry also won the National Finals Steer Roping Championship in Laramie, WY in back-to-back years in 1980 & 1981, and narrowly missed becoming the World's Champion Steer Roper on more than one occasion. In addition, Terry also hosted his own steer roping in Ogallala every year from 1962 until 1981, often drawing in the nation's best steer ropers. The proceeds from this roping went to the Crippled Children's Society of Nebraska.
Terry was preceded in death by wife Chris, parents George and Ada, and sister Jane Walker. He is survived by sons Jess (Jennifer), Mace (Cindi) and daughter Cody, as well as numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren. A memorial service will be announced at a later date.
