Jim Humphreys

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James O'Neill "Jim" Humphreys, Sr. ​ (Manager of the Pitchfork Ranch in Texas)
Born	February 28, 1921​ Kansas City, Missouri, USA​
Died	June 9, 2007 (aged 86)​ Lubbock, Texas​
Spouse	Berneice Anderson Humphreys (married 1951-2007, his death) Children: James "Jimbo" Humphreys, Jr. ​ LeAnn Lawson ​ Jane H. Penman ​ Jean H. Trull​ Parents: T. J. and Edna Humphreys
Religion	Baptist​

​ James O'Neill Humphreys, Sr., usually known as Jim Humphreys (February 28, 1921 – 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."

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.​

In 1947, he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in animal husbandry.

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 to assist with 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 through his role as a director of the parent company. On June 9, 1951, he wed the former Berneice Anderson in Creighton, Missouri.

As ranch manager, Humphreys supervised the operation of some 165,000 acres and 113 windmills in King and adjacent Dickens counties. According to the ranch website, Pitchfork cowboys are known for the quality of their horses, such as the "Pitchfork Gray," a gray horse with a black mane and tail. The Pitchfork brand is of course in the shape of a pitchfork. The Pitchfork is a diversified agricultural business, with an annex in Jefferson County in southeastern Oklahoma. There have been major petroleum finds in the Tannehill sands area. The Pitchfork offers guided hunting for deer, game birds, boar, and other game. Farming has been expanded in recent years to increase winter grazing and grain production. The ranch has some 4,500 mother cattle.

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. 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."​

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. The Southwestern Exposition named Humphreys an honorary vice president in 2006-2007. ​

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.

Family and death

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 H. Blessing of Lexington, Kentucky, and one great-grandson. Humphreys was preceded in death by his son-in-law, Randy Michael Lawson, a Lubbock stockbroker who was murdered in 1994. ​ ​ Services were held on June 11, 2007, at the First Baptist Church of Lubbock, where Humphreys had been a deacon. Interment was at Resthaven Memorial Park in Lubbock.​ ​ Humphrey's grandson, Matthew Humphreys (born c. 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.

References

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