Thomas Francis “Franny” Pearson was born in Burntfork, Wyoming. Fran grew up loving and caring for livestock and the land. There are many stories of him camping out with a herd of cattle, branding on the open range, roping, and riding horses.
On February 13, 1942, when World War II was going on he enlisted in the Marine Corps, ultimately serving in Nagasaki, Japan. After the war, he returned home and then went to the Little Snake River Valley to work for Cow Creek Sheep Company, running well over 11,000 head of sheep. In his free time, he competed in rodeos and cutting competitions on his horses “Seelum” and “Powder Horn.” He later worked on ranches near Rock Springs and Cokeville. He was a Wyoming Brand Inspector in Sweetwater County before becoming the foreman at Rife Ranch, which had around 10,000 head of sheep and 500 head of cattle until Fran’s retirement in 1987. He also worked for Rock Springs National Bank as a livestock auditor.