Johnny C Cagle

Johnny Cleveland Cagle, 91 years of age, passed away on November 22, 2019 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He was born on March 31st, 1928 in Ashland City, TN to John and Atlanta (Binkley) Cagle.

The Cagle’s owned a farm where Johnny and his 10 siblings grew up working hard in the family strawberry and tobacco fields. They attended a little country Baptist church called “The Church of Friendship”. After some revival meetings, while in his home, Johnny accepted Christ as his savior and was baptized in a nearby creek. He used to tell the story that he woke the whole household shouting for joy. His father calmed the home down by telling everyone “everything was ok… Johnny had accepted Christ”!

Johnny always enjoyed the outdoors, and in his younger years he and his friends loved to use dogs to tree racoons. After grammar school, he played basketball for Ashland City High School where he would go on to graduate in 1947.

In 1951 he enlisted in the Air Force while in Nashville, Tennessee. After his initial training, Johnny found himself stationed in the middle of nowhere Wyoming, at F.E. Warren Air Force Base. After the initial shock at F.E. Warren, Johnny fell in love with Wyoming because of its outdoor, hunting and fishing opportunities.

In addition to falling in Love with Wyoming, in 1952, Johnny attended a blind, double date, to a movie in Greely, Co. It was there, where he fell in love with, Dorthy Weinmeister. After three years of dating and after Johnny was honorably discharged from the Air Force, they were married at First Christian Church in Cheyenne on June 10, 1955.

During this time, Johnny applied to, and was accepted into an apprenticeship to become a pipefitter at local union 192. He would go on to work through the union for the entirety of his career, until he retired in 1985. During these years, he continued to play basketball, and cherished any opportunity to hunt and fish.



Johnny acquired several big game trophies over the years, but if you asked him, his Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep which he harvested on Whisky Mountain near Dubois Wyoming, was the pinnacle of his many favorites.
In his later years, his big game hunting subsided and he almost exclusively hunted geese. At one point, he went to Canada with his brother in law Richard to harvest a wide variety of species of geese. Richard remembers how odd it was to travel all the way to Canada, and not shoot a single Canadian Goose! Johnny’s passion for outdoor adventure was palpable and he was very excited to retire, so he could go hunting or fishing any day of the week!

For more than 20 years Johnny and Dorthy were active square dancers and participated in Cheyenne’s very popular, Dazee’s Dancers. They cherished dancing together on Dazee’s float during the Frontier Days parade. However, the parade was not the only event where they danced. They danced at different charitable events and were even invited to dance at the Coronation Ball for Miss Frontier Days; a big deal in those days! The Cagle’s dancing skills even earned them a spot on the silver screen. They performed with Casey Tibbs; a world champion Bronc Rider, who was in Cheyenne to film a movie called “Born to Buck”. The movie is on Amazon, and if you know when to hit pause, toward the end of the movie, you can see the Cagle’s tearing up the dance floor.

Additionally, Johnny and Dorthy loved to travel in their motorhome. At one point or another, they have visited all the states. One memorable experience was seeing the beautiful state of Maine in the Fall. They made that trip on three different occasions over the years. In addition to enjoying the country, Johnny had made a promise to travel back to Tennessee every year to see his family. In their early years, Dorthy remembers saving every penny so they could keep that promise. They truly enjoyed traveling, meeting and experiencing lots of churches, people, and places along the way.

Johnny and Dorthy came to First Baptist Church in April of 1979 and soon became faithful members. The Church had just added the gym and administrative offices while being pastored by Dr. Morgan Thompson. Johnny loved his church and faithfully served 4 years along with 14 others on the deacon board. The church has seen many changes; ups and downs over the years, but Johnny and Dorthy like to say… “that they were like glue… they just stuck!”
If you knew Johnny, you will know that he was a loyal Denver Bronco’s fan. Although Dorthy’s family had season tickets, they preferred to watch the games in the warmth of their living room. He had many special relationships with those at First Baptist over the years, but he truly enjoyed the weekly bantering, with his dear Sunday School friend Emily Dyer. Quite often, Johnny would ask for prayers for the Broncos, which would then be quickly followed up by Emily’s prayer request for “whoever” Denver was playing!

Johnny graduated from this life to meet his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Friday the 22nd of November and is survived by his wife Dorthy Cagle; his sister, Christine Felts; Brother in Law Richard Weinmeister; and numerous nieces, nephews, great and great-great nieces and nephews.

Johnny was preceded in death by his parents, three brothers, six sisters, and multiple nieces and nephews.