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Admirable personal qualities of Audry Owens touted by family, friends |
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By LYNN MONTGOMERY | East Texas Edition |
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June 13, 2002 -- Honest and respected. Two words that have powerful meanings. Two words that describe to a "T" Audry Owens of Bullard, according to his friends and family. Honesty and respect have also been the best policy in the Owens household. Daughters Jan Harris and Kim Murphy were raised to treat everyone with respect and to be honest. "He taught us to do everything up front. Be honest and it will not come back on you," Harris said. Murphy echoed the statement. "With Daddy, it all boils down to respect. You respect someone and be honest," she said. The cattle business and family life go hand-in-hand in the Owens family and has for generations. Born in 1928, Owens followed his father's footsteps. "My daddy and grandaddy were in the cattle business. I would hang out with daddy, following him from sale to sale, pasture to pasture. I love this business. Even through all the ups and downs. I've never had an eight-to-five job. With the cattle business, you've got to like it," Owens said. Owens has been in the sale barn business for at least 50 years - as buyer, seller, owner, and currently as a manager. "Both girls worked at the sale barn and they would still like to be here but because of family and sale day (at Tri-County Livestock) being on Saturday, it makes it impossible," he added. "Growing up, we loved going to the barn. We would set in the bleachers and watch. When we got old enough to work, we did," Harris said. "At one time, we all were working at the sale barn. Mother, Kim and I worked in the office, Daddy was in the (sale) ring and my husband was in the back." "I went to college at SFA (Stephen F. Austin) but I still drove in to work the sales on Tuesday and Saturday," Murphy replied. Both girls had their wedding rehearsals on Friday night, worked the sale on Saturday, and got married on Sunday. "We knew if we wanted Daddy to walk us down the aisle and people to be there, the wedding could not be on Saturday," they agreed. Owens sets the prices at Tri-County Livestock. In other words, he tells the auctioneer what price to start the bidding. Many believe one of the main reasons Tri-County is what it is today is because of Owens. "A lot of people thinks he owns this barn, and I don't tell them any different," said Michael Davis, barn owner. "I worked for him when he owned the barn in Jacksonville. A year after opening this barn (1986), Audry came to work here. He is well-known in the industry and a very honest person. This barn would not be the same without Audry." Back to the honest and respect words, many people in the cattle industry will tell you that Owens is from the old school and a dying breed. Murphy explained her dad's behavior towards people - "he treats everyone the same. It doesn't matter whether you have one cow or 1,000 cows. He always said those customers with 1,000 cows are nice but it's the ones with one or two head that makes the barn." "Audry has always been a solid, honest kind of a person," said Barry Hale, barn manager of Longview Livestock Commission Company. " He is one of the greatest people in the cattle business and looked up to by his peers and competitors. "If the world was full of Audry Owenses, we wouldn't have to count our cattle or lock our doors. You wouldn't have to draw up a contract if we had more people like Audry," Hale continued. "There's nothing bad to say about Audry Owens and there couldn't be a better dad," stated Julio Arriola. "He is as good as gold. In business, he sees that everyone is taken care of. He always has been there for everyone and is always available. No matter what time it was, I could call Audry at 2 in morning or 5 in the afternoon and he would be there (for me). Matter of fact, anyone could call Audry and he would be there." There is not a day goes by that Owens doesn't know what is happening in the cattle industry. An individual can call and ask any type of question, and Owens will know the answer, according to friends and aquaintances. Arriola, who worked with Owens at Tri-County and now works as a store manager for Cavender's, stated that there is no faster man than Owens when it comes to answering the phone. "He will have it picked up by the third ring. You had better get out of his way. He needs a cape so he can soar through the air just like a hero," Arriola stated. A hero who loves his job. "An old friend used to say Daddy is real unique; his job is his hobby," Murphy said. "His outlet is to go drive through the cows. Papaw was that way. He had to be out and about. Daddy is not going to just set around." Besides working at the barn, Owens is in a cattle partnership with his sons-in-law, Mike Harris and Jason Murphy. "We have crossbred cattle with Charlois bulls. I've run Charlois bulls for 40 years. They've done well for me," Owens stated. Owens, who does the feeding when it needs to be done, usually has a sidekick, one of the five granddaughters. The granddaughters have their own cattle. "For their first birthday, first Christmas, Daddy gave them a cow. They still get a cow every once in a while," Harris replied. "The kids love being outside, in the hay field, the pasture, it doesn't matter. My oldest and Jan's middle one should have been boys," Murphy said. The granddaughters are Owens' and his wife of 38 years, Barbara's, pride and joy. He will tell you, with a gleam in his eye, what his granddaughters are doing. "The oldest is Jenise. She's 15. Then there's Haylee and Jesse. They're 9. Then Aubri whose 4 and then Jaelyn, 3," he said proudfully. "Jenise goes to Brookhill School in Bullard. It's a private school." "Up until Mother got sick, Daddy drove Jenise to school every morning. It was their time together and the other girls knew it was their time," Harris said. "The first time Mother was in the hospital, Jenise couldn't understand why Daddy couldn't drive her to school." Mrs. Owens suffers from cancer. Driving the girls to school was something Owens has always done. "When we were little, Daddy would wake us up holding a warm washrag (for them to wash their faces), and orange juice or hot chocolate. Whatever it was that I wanted to drink. Mother was not a morning person. To this day, he still brings Mother her coffee in bed and if she wants to eat there, he will bring that too," Murphy said. At the "young age" of 74, Owens doesn't plan on slowing down. "I'm not going to retire. I can't see people retiring. People who retire fish for a while, golf for a while, then go set in their chairs at home and die. I don't have time for that. I've got to have something pushing me," Owens replied with a smile. "If I had my life to live all over again, I wouldn't change a thing." |
