Dale Priour, the Kerr County native who brought world-wide focus to the mohair and wool industry of Central Texas passed away quietly at his home at 6:55 a.m. on Sunday, June 30 at age 91. He spent his final days surrounded by family and friends in the home he had built. A memorial service will be held at Grimes Funeral Chapels in Kerrville at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, July 5. Graveside service will follow at Nichols Cemetery near Ingram.
Born in 1922, the Great Depression was formative in his life, and he believed in conserving resources and staying grateful for life's blessings. When war broke out, he left the University of Texas in his final semester to serve his country as a pilot in the Pacific, where he fought valiantly and was honored for many heroic missions.
He returned from World War II in 1945 to start a family and partner in the family wool and mohair warehouse in Ingram, growing it to multiple warehouses throughout Central Texas over the next 40 years.
Dale spearheaded the transformation of the Central Texas wool and mohair industry. Sheep and goats had come to the Kerr area in the 19th century, along with European immigrants. What Dale did was to campaign among ranchers to raise the quality of their product by selective and coordinated breeding. He hosted clinics, brought buyers from textile mills in New England and Europe, and showed ranchers what they had to do to make Texas a preferred supplier. He went to many ranches over those 40 years to help ranchers cull and upgrade, teaching them the finer points of what made wool and mohair more desirable in the textile industry. As a result, by the mid 1960s, Texas became the number one supplier of high grade mohair throughout the world, and the industry provided the backbone of the rural hill country economy until its demise in the 1990s, as land was divided and mohair became less fashionable.
Dale was predeceased by his wife Edna ("Beebsie"), his brother J. W., and his mother and father, Velma and Jim. He is survived by his four children – Gary Priour and wife Carol, Lary Priour and wife Georgia, Dalene Priour Taylor and husband Marc, and Nancy Priour Hopkins and husband Wesley. He had 16 grandchildren, who, along with his beloved Edna and their children, were the joy of his life – Michael Priour, Candice Welhausen, Charles Welhausen, Jennifer Phelps, Marc Taylor Jr., Travis Priour, Luke Priour, David Priour, Emily Phelps, Jonah Priour, Katherine Phelps, Megan Taylor, Jacob Phelps, Camille Priour, Kayleb Priour, and William Hopkins.
Dale was a man of unceasing faith and deep feeling, devoted to family, hard work and public service. He was a Master Mason of the 32nd Degree for over 65 years. He was a man who could be counted on, as his word was his bond, and his loyalties were steadfast. He loved the out of doors, especially the animals at his Mt. Home ranch, where he continued upgrading herds of exotic deer after the sheep and goats were gone. He was an avid bee keeper, boat and water ski enthusiast, and enjoyed to the last watching wildlife in his back yard. He was most at home out on his ranch where he spent a lifetime improving the land and its ability to support livestock.
Toward the end, Dale began to pray to go home, so he could be with his precious Beebsie and his beloved Lord.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that Memorial Gifts be sent to Hill Country Youth Ranch in Ingram, built on land donated by Dale in 1977.
Published in The Bandera Bulletin, July 1, 2013.
Born in 1922, the Great Depression was formative in his life, and he believed in conserving resources and staying grateful for life's blessings. When war broke out, he left the University of Texas in his final semester to serve his country as a pilot in the Pacific, where he fought valiantly and was honored for many heroic missions.
He returned from World War II in 1945 to start a family and partner in the family wool and mohair warehouse in Ingram, growing it to multiple warehouses throughout Central Texas over the next 40 years.
Dale spearheaded the transformation of the Central Texas wool and mohair industry. Sheep and goats had come to the Kerr area in the 19th century, along with European immigrants. What Dale did was to campaign among ranchers to raise the quality of their product by selective and coordinated breeding. He hosted clinics, brought buyers from textile mills in New England and Europe, and showed ranchers what they had to do to make Texas a preferred supplier. He went to many ranches over those 40 years to help ranchers cull and upgrade, teaching them the finer points of what made wool and mohair more desirable in the textile industry. As a result, by the mid 1960s, Texas became the number one supplier of high grade mohair throughout the world, and the industry provided the backbone of the rural hill country economy until its demise in the 1990s, as land was divided and mohair became less fashionable.
Dale was predeceased by his wife Edna ("Beebsie"), his brother J. W., and his mother and father, Velma and Jim. He is survived by his four children – Gary Priour and wife Carol, Lary Priour and wife Georgia, Dalene Priour Taylor and husband Marc, and Nancy Priour Hopkins and husband Wesley. He had 16 grandchildren, who, along with his beloved Edna and their children, were the joy of his life – Michael Priour, Candice Welhausen, Charles Welhausen, Jennifer Phelps, Marc Taylor Jr., Travis Priour, Luke Priour, David Priour, Emily Phelps, Jonah Priour, Katherine Phelps, Megan Taylor, Jacob Phelps, Camille Priour, Kayleb Priour, and William Hopkins.
Dale was a man of unceasing faith and deep feeling, devoted to family, hard work and public service. He was a Master Mason of the 32nd Degree for over 65 years. He was a man who could be counted on, as his word was his bond, and his loyalties were steadfast. He loved the out of doors, especially the animals at his Mt. Home ranch, where he continued upgrading herds of exotic deer after the sheep and goats were gone. He was an avid bee keeper, boat and water ski enthusiast, and enjoyed to the last watching wildlife in his back yard. He was most at home out on his ranch where he spent a lifetime improving the land and its ability to support livestock.
Toward the end, Dale began to pray to go home, so he could be with his precious Beebsie and his beloved Lord.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that Memorial Gifts be sent to Hill Country Youth Ranch in Ingram, built on land donated by Dale in 1977.
Published in The Bandera Bulletin, July 1, 2013.
Dale Priour, the Kerr County native who brought world-wide focus to the mohair and wool industry of Central Texas passed away quietly at his home at 6:55 a.m. on Sunday, June 30 at age 91. He spent his final days surrounded by family and friends in the home he had built. A memorial service will be held at Grimes Funeral Chapels in Kerrville at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, July 5. Graveside service will follow at Nichols Cemetery near Ingram.
Born in 1922, the Great Depression was formative in his life, and he believed in conserving resources and staying grateful for life's blessings. When war broke out, he left the University of Texas in his final semester to serve his country as a pilot in the Pacific, where he fought valiantly and was honored for many heroic missions.
He returned from World War II in 1945 to start a family and partner in the family wool and mohair warehouse in Ingram, growing it to multiple warehouses throughout Central Texas over the next 40 years.
Dale spearheaded the transformation of the Central Texas wool and mohair industry. Sheep and goats had come to the Kerr area in the 19th century, along with European immigrants. What Dale did was to campaign among ranchers to raise the quality of their product by selective and coordinated breeding. He hosted clinics, brought buyers from textile mills in New England and Europe, and showed ranchers what they had to do to make Texas a preferred supplier. He went to many ranches over those 40 years to help ranchers cull and upgrade, teaching them the finer points of what made wool and mohair more desirable in the textile industry. As a result, by the mid 1960s, Texas became the number one supplier of high grade mohair throughout the world, and the industry provided the backbone of the rural hill country economy until its demise in the 1990s, as land was divided and mohair became less fashionable.
Dale was predeceased by his wife Edna ("Beebsie"), his brother J. W., and his mother and father, Velma and Jim. He is survived by his four children – Gary Priour and wife Carol, Lary Priour and wife Georgia, Dalene Priour Taylor and husband Marc, and Nancy Priour Hopkins and husband Wesley. He had 16 grandchildren, who, along with his beloved Edna and their children, were the joy of his life – Michael Priour, Candice Welhausen, Charles Welhausen, Jennifer Phelps, Marc Taylor Jr., Travis Priour, Luke Priour, David Priour, Emily Phelps, Jonah Priour, Katherine Phelps, Megan Taylor, Jacob Phelps, Camille Priour, Kayleb Priour, and William Hopkins.
Dale was a man of unceasing faith and deep feeling, devoted to family, hard work and public service. He was a Master Mason of the 32nd Degree for over 65 years. He was a man who could be counted on, as his word was his bond, and his loyalties were steadfast. He loved the out of doors, especially the animals at his Mt. Home ranch, where he continued upgrading herds of exotic deer after the sheep and goats were gone. He was an avid bee keeper, boat and water ski enthusiast, and enjoyed to the last watching wildlife in his back yard. He was most at home out on his ranch where he spent a lifetime improving the land and its ability to support livestock.
Toward the end, Dale began to pray to go home, so he could be with his precious Beebsie and his beloved Lord.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that Memorial Gifts be sent to Hill Country Youth Ranch in Ingram, built on land donated by Dale in 1977.
Published in The Bandera Bulletin, July 1, 2013.
Born in 1922, the Great Depression was formative in his life, and he believed in conserving resources and staying grateful for life's blessings. When war broke out, he left the University of Texas in his final semester to serve his country as a pilot in the Pacific, where he fought valiantly and was honored for many heroic missions.
He returned from World War II in 1945 to start a family and partner in the family wool and mohair warehouse in Ingram, growing it to multiple warehouses throughout Central Texas over the next 40 years.
Dale spearheaded the transformation of the Central Texas wool and mohair industry. Sheep and goats had come to the Kerr area in the 19th century, along with European immigrants. What Dale did was to campaign among ranchers to raise the quality of their product by selective and coordinated breeding. He hosted clinics, brought buyers from textile mills in New England and Europe, and showed ranchers what they had to do to make Texas a preferred supplier. He went to many ranches over those 40 years to help ranchers cull and upgrade, teaching them the finer points of what made wool and mohair more desirable in the textile industry. As a result, by the mid 1960s, Texas became the number one supplier of high grade mohair throughout the world, and the industry provided the backbone of the rural hill country economy until its demise in the 1990s, as land was divided and mohair became less fashionable.
Dale was predeceased by his wife Edna ("Beebsie"), his brother J. W., and his mother and father, Velma and Jim. He is survived by his four children – Gary Priour and wife Carol, Lary Priour and wife Georgia, Dalene Priour Taylor and husband Marc, and Nancy Priour Hopkins and husband Wesley. He had 16 grandchildren, who, along with his beloved Edna and their children, were the joy of his life – Michael Priour, Candice Welhausen, Charles Welhausen, Jennifer Phelps, Marc Taylor Jr., Travis Priour, Luke Priour, David Priour, Emily Phelps, Jonah Priour, Katherine Phelps, Megan Taylor, Jacob Phelps, Camille Priour, Kayleb Priour, and William Hopkins.
Dale was a man of unceasing faith and deep feeling, devoted to family, hard work and public service. He was a Master Mason of the 32nd Degree for over 65 years. He was a man who could be counted on, as his word was his bond, and his loyalties were steadfast. He loved the out of doors, especially the animals at his Mt. Home ranch, where he continued upgrading herds of exotic deer after the sheep and goats were gone. He was an avid bee keeper, boat and water ski enthusiast, and enjoyed to the last watching wildlife in his back yard. He was most at home out on his ranch where he spent a lifetime improving the land and its ability to support livestock.
Toward the end, Dale began to pray to go home, so he could be with his precious Beebsie and his beloved Lord.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that Memorial Gifts be sent to Hill Country Youth Ranch in Ingram, built on land donated by Dale in 1977.
Published in The Bandera Bulletin, July 1, 2013.
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