On a raw, gray January morning, they started pulling up to the church, most in American-made pickup trucks displaying bumper stickers for the likes of Harley Davidson and Jack Daniels.

His still-stunned friends slowly made their way across the muddy parking lot through misty rain arm in arm with wives and girlfriends in jackets embroidered with the logos of the American Cowboy Association, Great Lakes Circuit Finals Rodeo, Central Bull Riders Association and the PBR World Finals.

Inside, a sea of wide brimmed hats and cowboy church music. This Little Light of Mine. Go Tell It on the Mountain. Songs first heard in Sunday school, now a somber soundtrack accompanying the quiet weeping of a young widow on shaky legs led to the front of Open Bible Praise Center in Boonville, Missouri.

His riding gear was set at the edge of the altar. Every seat in the church was taken. Everyone sat at attention and waited, not a single one on their phones. Nobody was going to disrespect the bull rider being laid to rest, their good friend Mason Lowe.

The outpouring of love and support from fans throughout the Western sports community was so great, Mason’s family asked for the services to be made available to fans on a digital stream.

“In sorrow, we find hope,” Pastor Tom Levin said. “Grief and memory live side by side in our hearts.”

Memories of Mason shared by PBR Announcers Matt West and Clint Atkins, by turns hilarious and heartfelt, brought laughs and tears.

In a world casually throwing around the term, he was the real deal – a genuine cowboy, West said.

He was a tough, fun-loving American original who loved life and wanted those around him to love it, too. He made his friends laugh until their faces hurt. He was humble and generous, often paying contestant fees he couldn’t afford for cowboys who’d been a little short that week.

The words of Lowe’s brothers in the PBR locker room, read aloud in the Missouri church, spoke to his impact.

Derek Kolbaba said Mason brightened every room he walked into.

Stormy Wing observed no dull moments with Mason, all to be cherished.

J.B. Mauney said no matter how hurt he was, whenever Mason took that rope he would try until his head hit the ground.

The judges in Tulsa may have had it differently, but Chase Outlaw swore that Mason Lowe, then 18, rode Bushwacker.

Koal Livingston said Mason, nearly walking out of the arena after being stomped on the chest by that final bull, had more heart than anyone he knows

That awful night in Denver, Mason Lowe would make it a few paces on the dirt before collapsing, that big heart irreparably damaged. He died doing what he loved.

PBR fans rallied to donate more than $200,000 to Mason’s family. His funeral, carried on RidePass, has been viewed nearly 50,000 times.

On February 15-16, PBR’s premier series event in St. Louis has a new name, the world’s best cowboys riding in the Mason Lowe Memorial.

They’ll ride and we’ll remember. Because Mason will never be forgotten.