Don Reeves
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Don Reeves of Wellington died April 22, 2020.
A private graveside service will be held in Wellington at North Fairview Cemetery on Saturday, April 25 with Keith Martin officiating. Arrangements are by Adams Funeral Home of Wellington.
Don was born July 14, 1937 in Hedley, Texas, to Alice Noel Reeves and Perry Leon Reeves.
Don graduated from Hedley High School in 1955 and played basketball on scholarship at Clarendon College in the 1955-1956 season. He then served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps from 1957 to 1959 in West Germany during the Cold War, then was transferred to the Army Reserves and was discharged in April 1963 attaining the rank of sergeant. He returned to the Texas Panhandle to resume his studies at what was then West Texas State College in 1959.
Don married Katherine Wright of Memphis on June 25, 1960 while he was still in college. He was actively involved in competitive cattle judging, a skill he learned in high school. Under the coaching of Dr. Charles Smallwood, Don and his teammates took high honors in major livestock events around the nation. The WT team took top prize in the senior intercollegiate livestock judging competition at the Houston Stock Show in 1961.
He earned his bachelor's degree from WT in 1962, and a master's degree in animal science from West Texas State University in 1977.
In his early career, Don worked for Warren Ranches. He and Katherine had their first child, Kathleen, while living on the Nance Ranch east of Canyon, which is now part of West Texas A&M University. A son, Bill, was born in 1965. Don began his service with the Texas A&M Cooperative Extension Service, now known as Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, in 1966 as an assistant agricultural agent for Washington County in Brenham, Texas. The couple's third child, Wesley, was born in Brenham in 1968 shortly before Don took the job as agricultural agent for Collingsworth County in Wellington.
Don and Katherine raised their family in Wellington, taking an active role in community, school and church activities. Don's passion was working with youth in the 4-H program, and he spent many hours helping generations of young men and women achieve success in junior livestock shows around the state of Texas. He was an avid Wellington Skyrocket fan, travelling many miles to cheer on his kids and countless others. He served as the president of the Kiwanis Club and was actively involved with the Wellington Chamber of Commerce. He was a member of First Baptist Church of Wellington.
In Don's role as an agricultural extension agent, he traveled the backroads of Collingsworth County meeting with farmers and ranchers, conducting crop research and introducing advanced farming and ranching techniques. During these years he also became an active volunteer with the Amarillo Tri-State Fair, eventually serving as livestock superintendent. He was involved in junior livestock shows at the Tri-State Fair for more than 50 years as a youth leader, volunteer, board member and superintendent. In 2015 the Tri-State Fair named him Ambassador of the Year, and most recently, Don worked to install wash racks that will be named in his honor at the Vance Reed Livestock Center at the Tri-State Fairgrounds.
In 1987 Don was honored with the Distinguished Service Award by the Texas County Agricultural Agents Association. In 1991, he took the position of agricultural agent for Potter County in Amarillo. The Texas A&M Board of Regents bestowed emeritus status on Don in 1995 at the time of his retirement in honor of his successful career as an agricultural agent.
In his retirement, Don took on the role as a cattle inspector with Amarillo National Bank, a job he loved because it kept him in close contact with his friends in the cattle business across the region.
Don had a knack for befriending people of all ages and backgrounds, and he was fiercely loyal to those he called friend. After losing his parents in a car crash at the age of 19, and later a brother who had suffered injuries in that crash, Don was highly protective of those he loved. He was devoted to his wife Katherine and intensely proud of his children and their families. He believed in Jesus Christ and lived out his salvation in service to others.
He was preceded in death by his parents; a sister, Tippie Reeves; and two brothers, Perry Leon "Buddy" Reeves, Jr., and Bill Reeves.
Survivors include his wife Katherine; a daughter Kathleen Brady and her husband Pat of Red Oak; a son Bill Reeves and his wife Sonia of Katy; and a son, Wes Reeves, and his wife Kim of Amarillo. Additionally, he is survived by grandchildren Jordan Brady, Anna Kay Reeves, John Reeves and Nicolas Reeves.
Memorials may be made to the Tri-State Exposition, 3301 SE 10th Ave., Amarillo, TX 79104, noting Don Reeves in the memo line, or the Collingsworth County Junior Livestock Program in care of the funeral home at 1300 East Avenue, Wellington, TX 79095.
Sign the online guest book at www.adamsfuneralsvc.com.