His colleagues say the man generally believed to be the oldest working cowboy in Texas lay down in a field and died the way he thought he ought to. Thomas "Tom" Everett Blasingame, 91, was found lying on his back Wednesday, his hands folded on his chest, by employees of JA Cattle Co. of Goodnight, where he worked. His saddled horse roamed nearby. "He must have known he was in trouble, dismounted and just lay down and died. There were no bruises or scratches, so he wasn't bucked off, but he was riding a young horse he was training," said ranch manager Johnny Farrar. Blasingame said in an interview with the Wichita Falls Times last summer that was the way he ought to die. He was honored Aug. 19 during Texas Ranch Roundup. Roundup officials said Blasingame was the oldest working cowboy in the state. Born Feb. 2, 1898, in Waxahachie, Texas, Blasingame was a cowboy all his life. He was 35 when he married his wife, Eleanor. "His life was a better life than what you and I live," she said last summer. "He doesn't worry about more than one thing at a time, and that's what he is doing right." Blasingame worked for many ranches but spent the past 56 years working for JA Cattle. He was a member of Matador Cowboys Association, earned the Western Heritage Wrangler Award presented by National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center in Oklahoma City and was recognized during a roundup by former Texas Gov. Mark White. Survivors include his wife, of Claude, Texas; a daughter, Nancy Etheridge of Boise, Idaho; a son, Thomas E. Blasingame Jr. of Hereford, Texas; four grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. Services are set for Saturday at JA Cattle Co. Cemetery near Clarendon.
His colleagues say the man generally believed to be the oldest working cowboy in Texas lay down in a field and died the way he thought he ought to. Thomas "Tom" Everett Blasingame, 91, was found lying on his back Wednesday, his hands folded on his chest, by employees of JA Cattle Co. of Goodnight, where he worked. His saddled horse roamed nearby. "He must have known he was in trouble, dismounted and just lay down and died. There were no bruises or scratches, so he wasn't bucked off, but he was riding a young horse he was training," said ranch manager Johnny Farrar. Blasingame said in an interview with the Wichita Falls Times last summer that was the way he ought to die. He was honored Aug. 19 during Texas Ranch Roundup. Roundup officials said Blasingame was the oldest working cowboy in the state. Born Feb. 2, 1898, in Waxahachie, Texas, Blasingame was a cowboy all his life. He was 35 when he married his wife, Eleanor. "His life was a better life than what you and I live," she said last summer. "He doesn't worry about more than one thing at a time, and that's what he is doing right." Blasingame worked for many ranches but spent the past 56 years working for JA Cattle. He was a member of Matador Cowboys Association, earned the Western Heritage Wrangler Award presented by National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center in Oklahoma City and was recognized during a roundup by former Texas Gov. Mark White. Survivors include his wife, of Claude, Texas; a daughter, Nancy Etheridge of Boise, Idaho; a son, Thomas E. Blasingame Jr. of Hereford, Texas; four grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. Services are set for Saturday at JA Cattle Co. Cemetery near Clarendon.
Gravesite Details
The last burial before Thomas Blasingame's was in 1899.
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