Tom B. Saunders IV, TSCRA honorary director, died Feb. 1, 2018. He was born in Fort Worth on Oct. 21, 1934, a fifth-generation rancher in Parker County, He attended Oklahoma State University, where he graduated with a degree in animal husbandry in 1957. He was a member of their national judging teams, the Block and Bridle, and Sigma Alpha Epsilon social fraternity.
Saunders continued a long legacy as a major contributor to the development of the cattle industry and over the years operated over 60,000 acres. He was an avid historian and author who enjoyed sharing his tales of the Texas cattle trails.
In addition to his service to TSCRA, Saunders was chairman of the Parker County Livestock Improvement Association; vice president of the Parker County Farm Bureau; 11-year chairman of the Parker County Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service committee; county chairman of the Screwworm Eradication Program; an honorary vice president and director of the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show and active in the Parker County Sheriff’s Posse.
He was honored by the Parker County Chamber of Commerce in 2011 with the county beef award and received the Texas Ranch Roundup Trailblazer Award at the Texas Ranch Roundup in Wichita Falls, an award that honors ranchers who have shaped the Texas cattle industry.
Saunders was inducted into the Texas Trail Hall of Fame in October 2006. He was the first curator of the Fort Worth Herd, where his last efforts were concentrated on seeing that the work on the Doss Heritage Log Cabin Park was in progress.
Saunders is survived by his wife, Ann, and children: Thomas V (Lynn), Ann Catherine (Perry), and Amy (Joel), grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.
Published in the April 2018 Issue of The Cattleman Magazine