Tom B. Saunders IV

Tom B. Saunders IV WEATHERFORD--Tom B. Saunders IV, a fifth-generation rancher in Parker County, passed away Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018, at home after a brief time in the hospital. MEMORIAL SERVICE: 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at First United Methodist Church, 800 W. 5th St., Fort Worth, Texas 76102. MEMORIALS: In lieu of flowers, Tom would be pleased if memorials were in the form of a contribution to the Doss Heritage Center for the Log Cabin Park. Tom continued a long legacy as a major contributor to the development of the cattle industry and, over the years, operated over 60,000 acres. His place of choice was his Parker County ranch. In addition, he was an avid historian and author who enjoyed sharing his tales of the Texas cattle trails. Tom B. was born in Fort Worth on Oct. 21, 1934, where he went to school at Arlington Heights, and on to Oklahoma State University where he graduated in 1957 with a degree in animal husbandry. He was a member of their national judging teams, the Block and Bridle, and Sigma Alpha Epsilon social fraternity. Tom B. was also a director of the Texas Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, chairman of the Parker County Livestock Improvement Association, vice president of the Parker County Farm Bureau, and 11-year chairman of the Parker County Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service committee, He was also 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. The Parker County Chamber of Commerce honored him with the county beef award in August 2011; he was awarded 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 history still abounds on the Northside. His last efforts were concentrated on seeing that work on the Doss Heritage Log Cabin Park was in progress. He was happy to see three cabins recently moved and in place there in Weatherford. Tom lived with his wife, Ann, on his Parker County ranch, along with his children and their families: Thomas V, his wife, Lynn, Ann Catherine and her husband, Perry, and Amy and her husband, Joel; and grandchildren, Jordan Williams, Madalynn and Leslie Ann Saunders, Mamie Cate and Caroline Haydon. This ranching heritage continues through the efforts of Thomas V, Saunders & Saunders Cattle Company and his surviving family, plus numerous nieces and nephews, Dave Brian and family and Jim Calhoun Jr. and family.