900 U.S. 59 Loop N • P.O. Box 689 • Livingston, TX 77351 • 936.327.2434
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July 6-9 – Commodity and Presidents' Conference, San Marcos
Polk County has lost an icon
B. J. "Jack" Pate was the Corrigan connection for the Polk County Farm Bureau. Jack was born in Cotulla on July 13, 1927 and passed away on June 19, 2010 in Corrigan. Interment was at Pine Grove Cemetery in the Pine Grove Community, just south of Corrigan.
Jack attended Texas A&M University and upon graduation moved to East Texas. According to his brother, Jack listened to his professors and understood the importance of hay to cattle raisers. He invested $20 and brought Coastal Bermuda to Polk County. This agricultural addition is beneficial to the cattle and hay business and ranks in importance behind forestry and lumber to our county's economy. It is said that when you find Coastal Bermudagrass in Polk and Tyler counties, you might need to thank Jack Pate.
A founding and charter member in Polk County, he served as president in 1961 and 1962. Along with J.E.Seamans, Jack was instrumental in helping the membership grow in Polk County. Under his leadership in 1961, 20 farm families joined the ranks as members of Polk County.
Both Seamans and Pate had their careers in education as FFA instructors for over 30 years–Seamans in Livingston and Pate in Corrigan. Seamans became the agency manager for the insurance operation and Pate became the president of the County Board. Their efforts are part of the agriculture history of Farm Bureau in Polk County.
Jack Pate helped establish the Trinity Neches Show and Sale, the Ag in the Classroom "Ag Day," now serving over 500 fourth graders each spring, and the growth of the Polk County Farm Bureau to more than 2,000 member families–great accomplishments and a legacy for this man. Pate served on many forums and committees, participating in the FFA and 4-H chapters, and was a Boy Scout leader and girls and boys basketball coach. He served on the board of directors of the Liberty County Teachers Credit Union as well as the the Farm Service Agency and the Production Credit Association. His community spirit reached beyond the Farm Bureau family.
A Korean War veteran, member of the local VFW and a Merchant Marine, he was most recently honored at the annual meeting of the Polk County Farm Bureau as being a Texas Farm Bureau Pioneer Award nominee from Polk County. Pate had been serving the County Board as a lifetime honorary Board member since 2008.
Jack will be dearly missed and many thanks go out to him and his family for allowing us to share in his gifts and hard work to help this Farm Bureau grow and be the Voice of Agriculture in Polk County.
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