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Montie Ritchie’s brother, Richard Morgan Wadsworth “Dick” Ritchie (1912–1940), was like their father Jack a sportsman but also an [[actor]]. He died from inhaling [[carbon monoxide]], which leaked from a faulty heater on a yacht while he was [[fishing]] in the [[Gulf of Mexico]] near [[Corpus Christi]].<ref name=PPHM/> Montie married the former Julia Elizabeth "Betty" Barrell of Boston,<ref name=PPHM/> who died when their only daughter, Cornelia Wadsworth "Ninia" Ritchie, was a child. Montie then married the former Hildegard “Hildy” Neill (August 23, 1917 &ndash; August 1992).​

Montie Ritchie’s brother, Richard Morgan Wadsworth “Dick” Ritchie (1912–1940), was like their father Jack a sportsman but also an [[actor]]. He died from inhaling [[carbon monoxide]], which leaked from a faulty heater on a yacht while he was [[fishing]] in the [[Gulf of Mexico]] near [[Corpus Christi]].<ref name=PPHM/> Montie married the former Julia Elizabeth "Betty" Barrell of Boston,<ref name=PPHM/> who died when their only daughter, Cornelia Wadsworth "Ninia" Ritchie, was a child. Montie then married the former Hildegard “Hildy” Neill (August 23, 1917 &ndash; August 1992).​

 

By 1945, after a decade of Montie’s management, JA operations had been reduced to 335,000 acres over Armstrong, Briscoe, Donley, and Hall counties. Subsequently, a tract of 130,000 acres was divided into eight leaseholds. The JA obtains its water from the Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River and its tributaries, as well as natural lakes, dirt tanks, and fifty-eight wells. The JA had twelve winter camps and five farms on which to grow livestock feed. The winter range in the Palo Duro afforded maximum protection, and the summer range was singularly free from land waste, just as Charles Goodnight had first told John Adair in 1874. Nearly two-thirds of the JA properties was rolling pasture land.<ref name=hbook/>​

By 1945, after a decade of Montie’s management, JA operations had been reduced to 335,000 acres over Armstrong, Briscoe, Donley, and Hall counties. Subsequently, a tract of 130,000 acres was divided into eight leaseholds. The JA obtains its water from the Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River and its tributaries, as well as natural lakes, dirt tanks, and fifty-eight wells. The JA had twelve winter camps and five farms on which to grow livestock feed. The winter range in the Palo Duro afforded maximum protection, and the summer range was singularly free from land waste, just as Charles Goodnight had first told John Adair in 1874. Nearly two-thirds of the JA properties was rolling pasture land.<ref name=hbook/>​

In 1988, the JA comprised several ranch buildings, including a supply store and garage. The centerpiece of the ranch remained the "Big House". In 1960, the house was designated a [[national historic landmark]]. Ritchie in 1971 and 1988, respectively, donated two of the JA's historic buildings, the old milk house and an oat bin, to the National Ranching Heritage Center on the campus of Texas Tech. A herd of longhorns, the animal once termed by the western [[artist]] Frank Reaugh as the most beautiful of animal creatures, roams in Palo Duro Canyon State Park, courtesy of the JA.<ref name=hbook/>​

In 1988, the JA comprised several ranch buildings, including a supply store and garage. The centerpiece of the ranch remained the "Big House". In 1960, the house was designated a national historic landmark. Ritchie in 1971 and 1988, respectively, donated two of the JA's historic buildings, the old milk house and an oat bin, to the National Ranching Heritage Center on the campus of Texas Tech. A herd of longhorns, the animal once termed by the western [[artist]] Frank Reaugh as the most beautiful of animal creatures, roams in Palo Duro Canyon State Park, courtesy of the JA.<ref name=hbook/>​

By 1990, the JA was substantially fenced and known for pure-bred Herefords and Angus bulls. Quarter horses were raised for ranch use, and a small buffalo herd was maintained; some commercial hunting of buffalo and deer was allowed. Tillable land continued to be leased. In 1998, the JA gave the state the last remaining wild herd of buffalo within Texas.<ref name=JA/> The Ritchie family also owns ranch land near Larkspur in Douglas County, to the north of  [[Colorado Springs]], where Montie's second wife, Hildy, spent most of her time.<ref>http://www.ranches.org/montie_ritchie.htm; http://www.ranches.org/ja_colo.htm</ref>​

By 1990, the JA was substantially fenced and known for pure-bred Herefords and Angus bulls. Quarter horses were raised for ranch use, and a small buffalo herd was maintained; some commercial hunting of buffalo and deer was allowed. Tillable land continued to be leased. In 1998, the JA gave the state the last remaining wild herd of buffalo within Texas.<ref name=JA/> The Ritchie family also owns ranch land near Larkspur in Douglas County, to the north of  [[Colorado Springs]], where Montie's second wife, Hildy, spent most of her time.<ref>http://www.ranches.org/montie_ritchie.htm; http://www.ranches.org/ja_colo.htm</ref>​