The following is our post in the Daily Email we send weekday mornings about Jarold Callahan, who passed away this past Saturday. We have details of the services announced by the Callahan family:
| It’s a sad Christmas for those of us who knew Jarold Callahan. Unexpectedly, he died on Saturday, December 23rd while visiting family in northeastern Oklahoma. Callahan had served as the President of Express Ranches for the past 27 years- and had led the effort to give birth to Cattlemen’s Congress when Covid was knocking out major cattle shows in the fall of 2020. He was serving before his passing as the Chairman of the group that is putting on the Fourth Congress in less than a week. Visitation for Jarold will be in Vinita on December 27th from 5 to 7 pm at the Burckhalter-Highsmith Chapel, 201 N Wilson, Vinita, OK. A Celebration of Life will be held at 10 AM this Friday, December 29th at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, 1700 Northeast 63rd Street, Oklahoma City, OK. The Obituary will be found later on the Burchhalter-Highsmith website but a suggestion for a memorial in honor of Jarold is on their site- “Jarold’s family would prefer memorials be made in his honor to Cattleman’s Congress to provide financial support to ensure that future livestock industry leaders have access to the educational opportunities offered by the OSU Purebred Beef Center. If you would like to support this cause, or contribute to the cost associated with the portrait and banquet, please make checks payable to: Cattleman’s Congress, Inc. with the designation Callahan Saddle and Sirloin. Contributions should be mailed to: Cattleman’s Congress, Attention: Kass Newell, 21 Land Rush St, Oklahoma City, OK 73107.” In addition to his role with Cattlemen’s Congress- Jarold was also was currently serving as a member of the OSU Board of Regents. Earlier this fall- he was honored by the Saddle and Sirloin Club that’s a part of the North American Livestock Expo as a Portrait honoree. Callahan grew up in Welch, Oklahoma and lived his life in Oklahoma- loving the cattle business and all that goes with it. He was a member of the NEO and OSU Livestock Judging teams- coached both of those teams- served as Executive Director of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association before taking on the job of making Express Ranches the premiere purebred ranch in the US. Several statements have been released- including a word from Bob Funk, Sr of Express, the staff of Cattlemen’s Congress, OSU- A&M Regents, Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association, Oklahoma Beef Council, Oklahoma Angus Association as well as the American Angus Association– click on these names to jump to those tributes. Your Editor has done multiple interviews over the years with Jarold- often as a preview to their Big Event Cattle Sale each August, many times with him over the last four years about Cattlemen’s Congress- and back a few months ago- talking about his life and career in a podcast that we produced for Cattlemen’s Congress. Click on the Blue Button below for that Podcast that is a part of the Cattlemen’s Congress Conversations that I have hosted in 2022 through now. The conversations we had after the interviews were over were about life and I will cherish those for the rest of my days. We pray for Jarold’s wife Jennifer, his family and those who worked with him closely- Listen to our conversation from September of this year with Jarold Callahan about his life and involvement in the cattle industry. |
