One of the victims of massive explosion at the fertilizer plant in West, Texas, died as he was trying to rescue his horses, according to friends.
William 'Buck' Uptmor, 45, rushed to a field near the scene of the accident when he heard the plant was on fire to try and save his animals, reported the New York Times.
The huge blast that followed killed 14 and injured hundreds. A friend of Uptmor, Al Cinek, 64, told the New York Times: 'If you knew Buck the way I knew him, he was all about friends, family, his horses. He went to rescue his horses.'
Animal lover: According to friends, Buck Uptmor died in the West fertilizer blast when he went to save his horses
Tributes: President Barack Obama speaks over a photograph of William 'Buck' Uptmor, at the memorial on Thursday for those killed at the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas
Uptmor is survived by his wife of 13 years, Arcy Uptmor, his parents, two sons, a daughter, a grandmother, a brother, a sister and several nieces and nephews.
He owned a fence-building business and was supposed to start a job at a nearby ranch soon.
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Among other projects, Uptmor's company built the local cemetery's fence, said Bill McKown, a retired school superintendent from Abbott, Texas, a town six miles from West.
'He was always busy,' building fences, McKown said. 'Because he was very reliable.'
Another man, Walt Mellgren Jr., 66, told the New York Times that Uptmor would 'do anything for anybody.'
Mellgren remembered an occasion a few years ago when Uptmor helped him corral emus onto a trailer.
'He was all about friends, family, his horses,' said a friend. Uptmor was survived by his wife of 13 years, Arcy Uptmor (pictured), his parents, two sons, a daughter, a grandmother, a brother, a sister and several nieces and nephews.
Tragic loss: This image was uploaded to the Facebook page of Buck Uptmor's daughter, Dusty Uptmor
'I won’t forget whenever Buck turned around and looked at me, he had gotten kicked,' he told the New York Times.
'He would have been eviscerated if it wasn’t for his coveralls. But they did their jobs. He was a real cowboy. That’s what he was.'
Uptmor was the drummer for the band Billy Uptmor and the Makers.
He enjoyed hunting, fishing, watching his children's sporting events, coaching Little League and supporting his daughter in barrel racing.
He trained and jockeyed race horses and loved to rodeo, whether it was riding bulls or saddle and bareback broncos, according to an obituary released by a funeral home in West.
'I told him: "You probably got every bone in your body broken." And he said, "That's probably true,"' McKown said.
Devastation: This aerial shot shows the area destroyed by the explosion on April 18