Roll Call Tribute

James Ronald "Jim" Dickey 

July 21, 1934 - April 3, 2024 

James (Jim) Ronald Dickey was born on July 21, 1934 near Bay City, Texas in a two room farmhouse to Samuel Robert Dickey and Ada Mae 'Smith' Dickey. 

He graduated from Bay City High School and competed in saddle bronc, bareback, and steer riding as part of the rodeo team. In 1951 he was elected Student President of the National High School Rodeo Association. He won his first "Buckle" for first place in bareback riding at a Youth Rodeo in Houston, Texas in 1952. That same year, he won third place in saddle bronc at the National High School Rodeo Championship in Augusta, Montana, the state where he would eventually make his home. After his winning placement in the national competition, it gave him the courage and confidence to accept the invitation to be on the Texas A&M Rodeo Team.

He was the first in his family to attend college. At Texas A&M he served in the Corps of Cadets, was on the gymnastics and rodeo teams, and was President of the Rodeo Club. Coming from a very humble background, Jim had to earn money for college. Apart from working as a ranch hand during breaks, he and his brother Bobby and friend Charlie would ride the rodeo circuit to win money when they could get away from school, entering contests under assumed names so they wouldn't lose their amateur status and get kicked off the A&M team. He valued his rodeo experience as a key factor in his success in life. At A&M he earned bachelors and masters degrees in Animal Husbandry.

Following his graduation from A&M, he began his work as a Show and Sales Herdsman for Winrock Farms in Morrilton, Arkansas to exhibit their Santa Gertrudis Show Cattle. During his time at Winrock he started taking flying lessons and then after earning enough solo hours he gained his Private Pilot License. His supervisors at Winrock recommended him for a job with Santa Gertrudis Breeders International as a classifier. He was invited to the King Ranch for the cattle working interview and although he was the youngest, he was deemed the most qualified of the five applicants and became one of the first Santa Gertrudis breed classifiers. After that, he often flew himself cross-country to different ranches that requested their cattle be classified. In addition to the US, he worked as a cattle classifier throughout Canada and Latin America.

One of Jim's dreams was to make a future of ranching in Latin America. After much correspondence, the King Ranch in Brazil offered him a consultant position with some 30 Brazilian ranchers forming the Association Santa Gertrudis Braziliano with the bonus of assistance in acquiring 10,000 acres for ranch development. The subsequent political situation in Brazil did not permit Jim to keep ownership of that land, and later in life, he would value that experience as one that led him to a realization of the global exploitation of indigenous peoples and their lands.

He was married to Mary Ann Anthony (Dickey) from 1961-1983, and together they had 5 children and traveled extensively, living in Latin America and Africa. After working in the Dominican Republic as a livestock advisor, he returned to school on scholarship at the University of Florida in Gainesville and earned a PhD in Animal Genetics. Once he obtained his PhD he was an Associate Professor and Acting Coordinator of the Tropical Animal Science Program at the University. He then continued his work as a livestock advisor in Paraguay, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Tunisia, Mali, and Bangladesh. He was a proud Texas Aggie his entire life and would host Aggie Musters when he lived overseas.

During the time he lived in Bangladesh, he married Sally Ann Bisch and they adopted 2 daughters from Nepal and India. They began raising their daughters in New Delhi, India. He continued his consultant work in India, Nepal, Pakistan, West Africa, Kosovo, and Macedonia. He sometimes accompanied Sally during her work as a WHO adviser and got to visit many of the countries of the South-East Asian Region. When it came time to retire back in the US, he and Sally made a tour of some Western states, finding what they liked in the hills outside of Columbus, MT, where they built their dream home and continued raising their two daughters. Jim served on his local housing association Board of Directors as Treasurer for many years. He also decided that his retired status would quickly become Semi-Retired as he attained his Real Estate and Brokers License and began working at Parks Real Estate where he assisted farmers and ranchers as a Ranching Consultant and Broker Associate. He even continued some short term livestock consulting work in Kosovo and Bolivia.

In the days prior to his passing he was surrounded by family and wonderful friends. Jim passed away peacefully on the morning of April 3, 2024 in the presence of his two youngest daughters. He was preceded in death by his father Samuel Robert Dickey, his mother Ada Mae 'Smith Dickey' Bridges, his sisters Zadie Lou 'Dickey' Jackson and LaJuan 'Dickey' DeBarbieris, and his brother Robert "Bobby" Dickey.

He was known by many names: James, Jim, Uncle, Grandpa, Granddaddy, Dad, and Daddy. He is survived by his spouse Sally Ann Bisch of Columbus, MT, daughter Arden 'Dickey' Hargrove and husband Hank Hargrove of Lakehills, TX, son Robert Dickey and wife Dawn Dickey of Alpharetta, GA, daughter Galen Lucia Dickey of Plano, TX, son Garreth Dickey of Dallas, TX, son Samuel Dickey and wife Miriam Dickey of San Antonio, TX, daughter Shanta 'Dickey' Bisch Milne and husband Michael Milne of Kalispell, MT, and daughter Anju Dickey Bisch of Columbus, MT. He leaves 14 grandchildren, of whom he was so proud: Levi Hargrove, Garrett Hargrove, Morgan Dickey, Jackson Dickey, James Laprocido, Lucia Laprocido, Angelina Laprocido, Isabella Dickey, Justin Dickey and wife Claire Winesett, Max Dickey, Claire Dickey, Adley Milne, Daxton Milne, and Liam Garritson, and 2 great grandchildren, Brooklynn Hargrove and Baby Girl Dickey.

In honor of Jim's legacy there will be a celebration of life in Columbus, MT on June 29, 2024 at the Stillwater Pavillion "Little Metra" (328 E. 5th Ave North, Columbus, MT 59019) beginning at 2pm. A gathering is planned in Texas as well.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to either the Texas A&M Foundation or the St. James Lutheran Church in Columbus, MT. If you are donating to the Texas A&M Foundation please designate gifts "In Memory of James Dickey '57". Gifts may be made online (under "general memorial fund") or by check made payable to the Texas A&M Foundation, 401 George Bush Drive, College Station, TX 77840. Online donations: http://give.am/memorial  Phone: 979.845.8161. Any donations made to St. James Lutheran Church in honor of Jim will be donated to the Lutheran Church in Bolivia, where he worked with the community during a mission trip.