Published
6 months agoon
Mass of Christian Burial for Michel Iriberry, 90-year-old Buffalo resident who passed away Sunday at the Big Horn Rehabilitation Center in Sheridan will be celebrated Friday, May 17th at 10:00 a.m. at St. John The Baptist Catholic Church in Buffalo with Father Jim Heiser at celebrant. A Vigil Service will be held, and the Rosary recited on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. from the Harness Funeral Home Chapel in Buffalo. Interment will be in Willow Grove Cemetery with graveside services to be held immediately after the Mass. Donations in Mike’s memory may be made to the Mike Iriberry Memorial Fund at 351 N. Adams in Buffalo, Wyoming 82834 to help the family with final expenses. Online condolences may be made at www.harnessfuneralhome.com.
Michel Iriberry was born on October 25, 1933, in Anhaux, France to Dominique and Maria (Bidondo) Iriberry. He grew up in rural France on a farm where he went to rural school. His father died with he was 13 and Mike worked on farms as a farmhand and herder. When he was 16 he started dancing with a group that went from town to town dancing in the streets at festivals and getting paid for it. In 1947 Simon and Catherine Harriet visited France and they met Mike and offered him a herding job in Buffalo. In 1952, at the age of 18 Mike made the move to Buffalo and herded sheep on the mountain for the Harriet Family. In 1957 Mike went into the sheep business with Domingo Martirena on a ranch south of Kaycee. In 1966 Mike and his brother Pierre leased some land from Pheasants and bought their sheep. In 1974 they bought land from the Pheasants and in that same year Mike and Raymond Taylor bought the Invasion Bar in Kaycee which they ran until 1982. He was married on July 9, 1977, in Buffalo to June (DeVoe) Brown, and they made their home on their ranch near Mayoworth. After a few years, they moved their ranching operation to Nine Mile where they lived and ranched for thirty-plus years. In 2009 they sold the ranch and moved into Buffalo. June passed away in September of 2017 and Mike continued living in Buffalo until his death.
His best times have been dancing and playing cards. In 2007 he and John Iberlin won the local Mus Tournament and won a trip to San Francisco for the national tournament. Mike’s passion was ranching and keeping his flock. He is survived by three stepdaughters, Paula and Debra Brown both of Buffalo, and Linda Burnett and her husband Rod of Casper; three sisters, Mary Jean Apal, Jean Schagneau, and Marie Anxalabere all living in France; two grandchildren; five great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, one sister, and five brothers.