Jim Humphreys
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| James O'Neill "Jim" Humphreys, Sr. â (Manager of the Pitchfork Ranch in Texas) | |
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| Born | February 28, 1921â Kansas City, Missouri, USAâ |
| Died | June 9, 2007 (aged 86)â Lubbock, Texasâ |
| Spouse | Berneice Anderson Humphreys (married 1951-2007, his death) Children: |
| Religion | Baptistâ |
â James O'Neill Humphreys, Sr., usually known as Jim Humphreys (February 28, 1921 â June 9, 2007), was a prominent Texas rancher and the former board chairman of the National Ranching Heritage Center, an entity of Texas Tech University in Lubbock. For some two decades, he managed the large Pitchfork Ranch, with headquarters near thinly populated Guthrie in King County located on the South Plains east of Lubbock. According to Historic Ranches of Texas, Humphreys thereafter became "one of the major figures in Texas agriculture before his retirement from active management in 1986."[1]â
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Background
Humphreys was born in Kansas City, Missouri, to T. J. and Edna Humphreys. In 1940, he launched his studies at Texas Tech but was sidelined by service in the United States Army Medical Corps during World War II. He served with the 34th Infantry Division in Great Britain, North Africa, and Italy.[2]â â In 1947, he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in animal husbandry.[3]
Career
After graduation, he joined the staff of Interstate National Bank in Kansas City but soon returned to the South Plains in 1948 to work at the Pitchfork. He was hired by manager Douglas Burns as the assistant in charge of domestic hog operations. He soon mastered ranch operations and became the sixth manager of the Pitchfork when Burns retired to Lubbock but continued to advise the ranch as a director of the parent company.[1] On June 9, 1951, he wed the former Berneice Anderson in Creighton, Missouri.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag â
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Humphreys served on the board of directors of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and the National Cattleman's Association. He was similarly active in the Amarillo-based American Quarter Horse Association, having served on the association's public information and education committee.[4][2] From 1977 to 1980, Humphreys was the board chairman of the Ranching Heritage Center, which operates a highly acclaimed outdoor museum of western and ranch structures on the Texas Tech campus, open free to the public. In 2005, Humphreys, along with Giles Connell McCrary, Jr. (1919-2011) of Post in Garza County, was among five individuals presented with the Ranching Heritage Association "Founders Award."[5]â â In 1970, Humphreys received the Gerald W. Thomas Outstanding Agriculturist Award. He was further honored by the American and Texas Hereford associations and the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show in Fort Worth. In 1990, the National Hereford Show was named in his honor.[2] The Southwestern Exposition named Humphreys an honorary vice president in 2006-2007.[1] â â When Humphreys retired from the ranch, he relocated to Lubbock. Bob Moorhouse (born in Texas in 1947) became the new manager and held the position until his retirement in 2007. Moorhouse is also known for his ranch photography.[6]
In addition to his wife, Berneice, Humphreys was survived by a son, James "Jimbo" Humphreys, Jr., of Dickens, rancher active in the National Cowboy Symposium, and his wife, Winona; three daughters, LeAnn Lawson of Lubbock, Jane Penman of New Braunfels north of San Antonio, and Jean Trull and husband, Clifford, of Crosbyton in we Texas; a sister, Ann Blessing of Lexington, Kentucky, and one great-grandson.[3] Humphreys was preceded in death by his son-in-law, Randy Michael Lawson, a Lubbock stockbroker who was murdered in 1994.[7] â â Services were held on June 11, 2007, at the First Baptist Church of Lubbock, where Humphreys was a deacon. Interment was at Resthaven Memorial Park in Lubbock.[3]â â Humphrey's grandson, Matthew Humphreys (born ca. 1982), who grew up in Dickens, established a spur- and bit- making shop in Lubbock. Like his grandfather, he holds a bachelor of science degree in animal husbandry from Texas Tech but learned his craft primarily by watching his father, James Humphreys, Jr., when he was the manager of Guitar Ranches at Spur, Texas. The younger Humphreys also makes western trophies.[8]â â ==References==â
- â 1.0 1.1 1.2 http://books.google.com/books?id=BVYLrXGCJYIC&pg=PA56&lpg=PA56&dq=Southwestern+Exposition+and+Livestock+Show+%2B+James+Humphreys&source=web&ots=W9QHOu4MdX&sig=-J36g-eryERCn8ecSQJp8ZcWopk&hl=en%7Ctitle=Historic Ranches of Texas|author=Lawrence Clayton|publisher=Google Books|accessdate=November 19, 2019}}
- â 2.0 2.1 2.2 Honorary Director Jim Humphreys Dies. The Cattleman (July 2007). Retrieved on November 19, 2019.
- â 3.0 3.1 3.2 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedobit - â {{citAQHA Mourns Loss Of Jim Humphreys. American Quarter Horse Association (June 14, 2007). Retrieved on November 19, 2019.
- â http://techannounce.ttu.edu/archiveview.php?message_id=28133
- â Meet Bob Moorhouse. The Pitchfork Ranch. Retrieved on November 19, 2019.
- â The Year in Review. The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal (December 29, 1996). Retrieved on November 19, 2019.
- â MySpace.com - XX Silver and Steel - 25 - Garçon - LUBBOCK, Texas - www.myspace.com/xxsilverandsteel
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