Brent Wesley Gattis, 46, died June 17, 2018. He was known and called friend by people from every walk of life: royalty, presidents, drycleaners, members of Congress, governors, fence builders, billionaires, custodians and CEOs of industry. He had a lifelong passion for animals and worked in high school for a wild game park where his infatuation with exotic animals took off. He also worked for the Houston Zoo as a volunteer. He was considered an expert in exotic birds by many and owned some of the rarest birds in captivity which he worked tirelessly to cultivate and preserve.
After graduating from Friendswood High School in 1991, he attended Texas A&M University in College Station, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Development in 1995. While there, he began what was to become a lifelong career in public policy. He first went to Washington, D.C. on a Texas A&M College of Agriculture internship in Congressman Charlie Stenholm’s (D-TX) office. He served members of the U.S. House of Representatives, House Committee on Agriculture for over 10 years before becoming a senior policy advisor with the firm of Olsson, Frank, and Weeda. He started his own consulting firm in 2013.
Gattis is survived by his parents, Karen and Dan Gattis; a brother, TSCRA Director Dan (Shana) Gattis; a nephew, Sterling Jack Gattis; and nieces, Carson Marie Gattis and Kenedy Sue Gattis, all of Georgetown; a grandmother, Jane Busby of Burnet County; and countless friends.
Published in the August 2018 Issue of The Cattleman Magazine