Willard Mark Wolf

Willard Mark Wolf passed away peacefully on March 13, 2019 at Hospice House in Spokane with his wife and daughter by his side, after a valiant battle with cancer at the age of 78. He was born July 26, 1940, in Meers, Oklahoma, to Kenneth and Helen Wolf. Willard and his brother, Gordon, were raised on the family’s commercial Hereford cattle ranch, adjacent to the Wichita Wildlife Refuge, where Willard and other young cowboys spent many hours riding the range.

Willard graduated from Elgin High School in 1958 as an honor student and outstanding ag student and earned an FFA Junior Master Farmer’s Degree. During high school, he showed the grand champion steer in the Tulsa State Fair in 1957. Willard went on to graduate from Oklahoma State University with a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science and a minor in Business Law. In college, he earned high academic honors and was an active member of several livestock-related teams and clubs.

While attending college, Willard got his start buying and selling feeder and fat cattle at the Oklahoma City Stockyards. In 1963, he was hired by the Livestock Market News which included assignments in Oklahoma, San Francisco and Spokane. In 1965, Willard was transferred to Washington, D.C. and later accepted a position with the Foreign Agricultural Service, which included exporting thousands of head of cattle, sheep, hogs and horses to many foreign countries. In 1968, Willard moved to Spokane and began working as the Northwest Field Representative for the American Hereford Association – a position he held for 33 years. During that time, he served as a consultant, marketer, researcher, and promoter of the Hereford breed across the U.S. as well as Canada, Mexico and Australia.

The annual Western Nugget Show and Sale in Reno, NV continues today as a result of Willard’s development and guidance through the years. The “Willard Wolf Award” is given each December at the Reno show to an outstanding Junior Hereford Member. Willard’s highly innovative ideas of promotion led to unique cattle sales like the “Ladies In The Lobby” in the Historic Davenport Hotel and the “Ladies On The Boardwalk” on the floating dock at Coeur d’Alene Resort, as well as, the first ever sale of registered cattle by satellite held at the Ag Trade Center in Spokane.

Calf roping was one of Willard’s favorite pastimes. He always looked forward to attending the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. Willard was also accomplished in the highly specialized art of water witching, he successfully witched hundreds of wells in his lifetime, all over the Pacific Northwest.

First and foremost, Willard was a cattleman who worked on behalf of the entire beef industry. He was former President of the Spokane County Cattlemen; served on committees with the Washington Cattlemen Association; was an active member of the Cattle Producers of Washington; and for 30 + years, conducted educational programs as part of the Spokane Ag Expo/Pacific NW Farm Forum. He also believed that it was vitally important to support youth who were starting out in agriculture. He was a source of leadership and encouragement to Junior Hereford members, and served on the board of the Spokane Junior Livestock Show. Willard was inducted into The American Hereford Association Hall of Merit in 2005 and the National Livestock Marketeers Hall of Fame in 2007.

Willard officially retired from the American Hereford Association in 2001, but he never really left the cattle industry; although, he did allow more time to play golf, travel with dear friends and family, and always cheered on the ZAGS! Many summer days were spent at Conkling Park Marina with his B Dock family of boaters, and he regularly joined his Monday Night Poker Club. Willard stayed active in purchasing cattle for the Certified Hereford Beef Program and Crossroads Cattle Company up until a few days before he passed.

Willard is survived by his wife Patty, Valleyford, WA, son Bart Wolf, Mead, WA daughter Wende (Lance) Wilber, Anchorage, AK and daughter Wendy Porter, Spokane Valley, WA. He is also survived by grandchildren Ian and Claire Wilber, Anchorage, AK and his brother Gordon (Jeannie) Wolf, Meers, OK.

Patty and Wendy would like to thank Cancer Care Northwest and Hospice House of Spokane for the exceptional care Willard received during his final days, as well as a special thank you to all the neighbors in Valleyford for many days of snowplowing and their ongoing support.

A Celebration of Life will be held Sunday, April 28, 2019, at 12:00 noon at the Mirabeau Park Hotel, 1100 N Sullivan Rd, Spokane Valley, WA. A luncheon will follow.

Memorials may be sent to Hospice of Spokane, PO Box 2215, Spokane WA 99210, or to a local Cattlemen’s Association or Junior Livestock Show of your choice.