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Jonathan Lee Ingram returned home to Heavenly Father on June 4th, 2021.
Found on scraps of paper around the house was a motto he chose to live by. “There’s no dignity in giving up when you still have the strength to fight.”
On September 12th, 1943 Jon fought his way into mortality being born breech, and he never stopped fighting of his own volition. Jon was born to Audrey Noreen Ingram and Richard (Dick) Daniel Ingram in the Loma Linda hospital. He grew up on San Gabriel Street in San Bernardino California with his two younger siblings Julia Lorane Ingram and Jeffrey Lynn Ingram.
From a young age Jon wanted to be a cowboy. He played guitar and sang “Your Cheatin Heart” at a county fair when he was four. He was a rambunctious elementary school student being gagged and handcuffed to his desk by his 2nd grade teacher. In Jr. High he worked a paper route and mowed lawns with a non motorized push mower to save money for his first horse. He bought a two year old stallion he named Smokey after the Will James novel, “Smokey the Cowhorse.” Jon led his new stallion by hand 10 miles across town to a neighbor's corral.
Jon rode with his boyhood posse he referred to as “the flying five,” on many wild adventures. He worked on a ranch in New Mexico at a very young age and he loved spending time with his Uncle Claude and Aunt Dorthy Greening on their ranch.
Jon attended and graduated from Pacific High School in San Bernardino California. Again, like everything in his life the stories are epic. Jon decided to do an unwritten timpani solo during a serious band concert. He once took a joy ride on a country club golf course and tore up the greens with Kent Snidecor his partner in crime since kindergarten.
He loved to run and talked about loving to get the “second wind.” His nickname written all over his yearbook was “bugs.” He loved entomology. He also judged cattle and hogs in the FFA. After high school, Jon attended Cal Poly studying Pre-Vet.
He met his first wife Marcie and Daniel Ingram was born. Jon and Marcie were later divorced. After the birth of “Danny,” Jon focused on carpentry, building track housing in Wrightwood California. His speed and skills increased until he became a master carpenter. He had a cabinet shop in Waikiki Hawaii at one time and worked on sky rises there as well. He ended up building beautiful homes in Jackson Wyoming and Victor Idaho. He once built a house with his brother Jeff from start to finish in one month. As a construction company superintendent, he helped rebuild Rexburg, Idaho after the dam failure and flood of 1976. He continued to build additions and family homes for many years to pay the bills even after he became a full time horse trainer.
In 1970 Jon met the love of his life Laura (Lauri) Marie Eschen. He was working in Pinedale WY as a cowboy and hunting/fishing guide. A movie, “The Legend of Earl Durand” was being filmed on the ranch. A Hollywood actor was interrupting Laura while she was singing and playing the guitar. Jon defended her honor and they were married in Dubuque Iowa on June 10th, 1972. Laura worked alongside Jon in everything they did for the next 49 years. Jon and Laura had three children Lucas Claude Ingram, Seth Tomas Ingram, and Megan Noreen Ingram. They moved 18 times as they raised their family and Jon chased his dream of becoming a master horseman.
Jon was a student of the California vaquero reined cow horse tradition. He mentored with prominent master horseman such as Ronnie Richards, and he was inspired to become a reining horse trainer after seeing Al Dunning on the legendary horse Expensive Hobby. During his career, Jon won 9 National and World Titles. He helped found the Idaho Reining Horse Assoc. Every horse Jon bought and trained was “the best horse I’ve ever owned.” Jon truly loved every one of his horses. While Jon did win national and world titles he really excelled in passing on his passion to students, who were serious about horses themselves. He taught everyone from reining horse clients to rodeo queens. He often had an apprentice who lived with the family and worked with Jon on a daily basis. His teaching and training style, like his life lessons, were blunt and direct. Still, his students flourished and won. Learning more than just the ins and outs of horse training. Jon loved horses and loved people who loved horses. His customers, clients and assistants all became true friends. Jon rode his horse Warrior up to the day before he passed away fulfilling his own wish to ride to the end.
As a horse trainer and carpenter, Jon sustained many physical injuries and survived numerous accidents. He also fought heart problems for over twenty years, and even survived cancer. His ability to keep working through physical hardship was legendary. He went through all these physical trials with consistent determination to live a productive life. Showing physical weakness went against his self imposed cowboy code.
Jon struggled with alcoholism for the first 30 years of life. When he passed he had been sober for over 40 years. He attended AA from time to time up to the week before his passing. He was proud of his 30 years clean “one day at a time medallion.” One factor that pushed his sobriety was his wife Laura. The other was the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
In June 1978 Jon and Lauri were baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In 1980 Jon and Lauri were sealed for time and all eternity in the Seattle Washington LDS Temple. Jon loved the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He served in many church callings starting as a Sunday school teacher. He served as a Webelos Scout leader, and Boy Scout Master. He loved serving in the Bishopric of the Jupiter Florida Ward. He was an effective Ward Missionary for many years in the Belle Glade, Fl. branch of the LDS church. While he served in many official callings he was always on call to serve. He loved doing service projects and fired up the chain saw to cut up trees from hurricanes and ice storms up to the last year of his life. People generally know Jon as the horseman. What they may not see is when he was struggling financially himself he often helped people in need by putting on a roof for free or at a discounted rate. He regularly took in hitchhikers, drug addicts, alcoholics, homeless way-word kids etc...Jon once said, “If you won’t stop to help a person fixing a flat tire on the way to church you’ve missed the point.” Jons own life experiences motivated him reach out to the needy and the underdog.
Jonathan Lee Ingrams funeral will be Friday, June 11th at 11:00 am in the Noble Oklahoma, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints building. The viewing will be at 10:00am. A Zoom link to the funeral service will be shared on the Ingram Family members Facebook pages for those who would like to attend the service virtually.
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