Sam Countiss

" COUNTISS Sam Countiss, 93, passed away peacefully at his home on Tuesday, March 10, 2009. He had lived a long, productive and distinguished life and will be greatly missed.Sam was born on the Chisholm Trail in Waurika, Oklahoma on October 18, 1915. His family had settled there in what was then The Indian Territory after the Civil War. His mother, Delia Campbell, was raised on her family's homestead north of the Red River, where they engaged in ranching and farming. His father, Hosea Denton Countiss, also a farmer and rancher, moved the family to Corpus Christi in 1921 to continue the family business in a milder climate.Sam, with his first wife Louise Swofford Countiss, moved to the Rio Grande Valley, adding citrus and truck farming to the family enterprises. Together with his father, he incorporated the Rancho Seco Land and Cattle Company. In Harlingen and later in Robstown, he served as a stockholder and director of various savings and loan institutions.After World War II, Sam settled his family in the Corpus Christi area where he continued his farming and ranching enterprises at his ranches on Hwy 624 and in McMullen and Atascosa Counties. He took particular enjoyment in breeding prize-winning Charolais and Santa Gertrudis cattle and was a member of the South Texas Cattlemen Breeders Association.For a time he lived in Robstown but eventually bought a home in the Del Mar addition in Corpus Christi. Following the death of his first wife Louise in 1963, he married Catherine Clark McCracken in 1964 and lived with her until her death in 1992.No doubt influenced by his pioneer forefathers, Sam loved to see the world and traveled extensively throughout Europe and Africa as well as the United States and Mexico.Largely self-educated, he was an avid reader, particularly enjoying books on the history of Texas and the Southwest as well as wildlife and nature volumes. In addition to his home in Corpus Christi, he maintained residences on his ranches and was never so happy as when staying in one or the other of them.Sam Countiss was a ""gentle man"" in the truest sense of the word with an innate courtesy and kindness that endeared him to his family, friends, and those who worked for him. He is survived by a son, Daniel Denton Countiss (Kathy) of Corpus Christi; a daughter, Mary Ellen Countiss Cook (Claude) of Topeka, Kansas; a step-son, Dick McCracken (Lucy) of Corpus Christi; a step-daughter, Sally McCracken Gould (John) of Portland, Oregon; seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.Special thanks go to Patricia Brink, who was not only his longtime adviser and CPA but also a wonderful friend, and to his loving and devoted caregivers, Joanne Martinez, Neomi Cantu, Esther Oropeza and Lorena Rosales.Visitation will be held on Thursday, March 12, 2009 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Cage-Mills Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held at Church of the Good Shepherd on Friday, March 13, 2009 at 3:00 p.m. Interment will follow at Rose Hill Memorial.Pallbearers will be Mike Irby, John Graves, Mike Harrell, Jerry Wheaton, Brewster McCracken and Kevin McCracken."