JUD LACKEY
March 17, 1929-April 20, 2015
Visitation: 6-8 p.m. Friday, April 24, Carson-Wall Funeral Home, Parsons, Kansas. Service: 2 p.m. Saturday, April 25, Wesley United Methodist Church, Parsons, Kansas. Burial: Thayer Cemetery.
Jud Lackey, 86, widely known Parsons resident, died at 5:30 p.m. Monday, April 20, 2015 at the Good Samaritan Society in Parsons.
Eighty-six years ago this past St. Patrick’s Day, Jud Lackey was born to Roy and Esta (Peebles) Lackey on a leased farm south of Cherryvale. He was born into a family which was dirt poor but rich in love. He was one of five children, including Vernon, Bob, John and Yvonne. John died as a toddler and Jud never knew him. Vernon died in 1995. His big brother, Bob, and his little sister, Yvonne, still are with us.
When Jud was 16, his folks purchased a farm 3 miles north of Thayer. On a church sponsored hay rack ride there at the age of 17, Jud fell in love with Ruth Knox. They were married several months later on March l, 1947. Members of the community whispered the marriage would never last. The gossip technically was confirmed when, after 67 years of marriage, the two were parted by Ruth’s death March 21, 2014.
With a determined wife, a lot of common sense, an uncanny ability to remember details, size up a situation and connect with just about anybody he met, he became a successful businessman. Although he barely graduated from Thayer High School, he held his own, first driving an egg truck for his father-in-law Willard Knox. Soon afterward, he became a top salesman in the nation for Nutrena Feeds, a position usually only held at the time by college graduates. Even with seemingly greater successes in his future, this is the one which Jud talked most about in his old age.
With his position as territory manager for Nutrena, Jud moved his wife and two small children, Kelley Jud and Kathryn Ruth, to Vinita, Oklahoma. Ruth operated her own beauty shop while Jud traveled with his position. In 1961, the couple had the opportunity to become co-owners of the Jarboe-Cowling Feedlot north of Parsons. It was there Jud helped load the last pen of cattle to be shipped on the Katy by rail car. During that time, he was taken under the wing of Walter Jarboe, a longtime cattleman in the region. Walter became like a second father to Jud, mentoring him through those early years in the cattle business.
Jud loved the land, and he loved Parsons. By 1970, complaints from the citizens of Parsons about the odor from the feedlot at the city limit created a challenge to either shut down the business or move it to another town. Jud saw another option. He took it as an opportunity to design and build a new lot nine miles northeast of town near the Neosho River. This new lot was revolutionary in its design in that it retained and recycled all of the usual feedlot contaminates associated with pollution. It was state of the art and was emulated by many others in the feedlot industry.
Beginning in 1980, Jud and Ruth spent 2 1/2 years in federal court after being wrongfully accused of doctoring almost 200,000 pounds of beef with a cancer causing agent. The case was significant to the livestock industry, and was reported widely. The financial and emotional stress was great to them and their loved ones. However, the two of them never lost their determination, spirit or sense of humor. They ultimately prevailed against the federal government, with the court calling their prosecution capricious and unnecessary.
In 1999, Jud and Ruth retired and became active RV’ers, traveling to many places in the United States and Canada. Brownsville, Texas became their unofficial winter home for many years. Also in their retirement, Jud and Ruth became great-grandparents to Ian Jud and Kathryn Sophia, the children of their grandson and his wife, Kelley Jud (II) and Carolyn Lackey. While he was equally crazy for both of his great-grand children, he was especially happy to introduce his great-grandson as “the fourth Jud” at every opportunity.
For most of the past decade, Jud has been a bit of a medical oddity, suffering from the effects of a brain tumor which should have killed him within a year. At each stage of his decline he graciously acknowledged his reality, relinquished those things he could no longer handle, and sought help so he could continue his life in the community. He was a stellar example of how to age gracefully with failing health. He was fond of saying, “Getting old ain’t for sissies.” It was just a week before that he made the decision to move to the Good Samaritan Society where he died Monday, April 20.
Jud was a member of numerous social and professional clubs and organizations and seemingly knew just about everyone. He leaves behind many friends, his children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and a dog named Paddy, all of whom loved him very much. He was a big man, with big stories, and a big heart who will be remembered for his self-determination, his generosity and his love of life.
The family will receive friends at the Carson-Wall Funeral Home in Parsons from 6-8 p.m. Friday, April 24. Funeral services is at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 25, at Wesley United Methodist Church in Parsons. Burial will follow in the Thayer Cemetery.
Memorials are suggested to either the Wesley United Methodist Church of Parsons or the Cowboy Capital Fellowship, Box 130, Lenapah, Oklahoma 74042. They also may be left at or sent to the funeral home at Box 942, Parsons, KS 67357. Online condolences may be made at www.wallfuneralservices.com.
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