A lifetime devoted to
june 2020
CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF PAST OCA MAGAZINE CONTRIBUTOR MURRAY FRETZ
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MURRAY GORDON FRETZ - April 17, 1931 to April 15, 2020 Murray G. Fretz passed on April 15, 2020, at the age of 88. He had a remarkable journey and long career in the livestock industry spanning over seven decades. Murray was the oldest of nine children raised on a vegetable/ fruit and small cattle farm in Ontario, Canada. He and his family were practicing Mennonites. He showed Angus cattle at livestock shows during his youth. At a young age, Murray was always driving his dad’s Ford 8N tractor, tilling the fields. When he turned sixteen the neighbor let him borrow his three-ton truck to take his driver’s license and obtain a commercial driving permit. That way Murray could help the neighbor haul his produce to markets. By the time he was seventeen years old, Murray was driving a 27-foot semi to show his neighbor’s Angus cattle at livestock events. In 1949, Murray was offered a herd manager position at King Haven Farms-- a 150 head Angus herd owned by a prominent Ontario family. He worked there for three years and helped his father by hauling produce throughout Canada and the U.S. At the young age of 24, Murray purchased a 150-acre farm for $35,000 outside Guelph, Ontario, Canada and married his future wife Shirley. In 1958, Murray began his journalistic career with livestock organizations when he was hired as the Secretary Manager for the Ontario Angus Association and published a monthly newsletter. During this time, Murray and Shirley became parents to three children, David, Nancy, and Grant. In 1964, he was hired to work as General Manager of the Canadian Angus Association and the publisher of their magazine. He obtained his pilot license which made it possible to meet in person with his nine salesmen scattered across the country. The next step in his career was in the spring of 1968, when Murray was hired as the general manager of the Aberdeen Angus Journal, a privately held publication based in Webster City, Iowa. He moved his family to Iowa in June of that year. Murray along with a New York business partner owned a 3,000-acre angus ranch called Seven Springs Angus near the Ozarks in Missouri and another Angus ranch in northern California. The two also owned Transcontinental Land and Cattle that transported herds across the country for cattle ranchers. In 1975, Murray purchased the controlling interest in the Aberdeen Angus Journal when he became the sole owner and publisher. Murray purchased his own airplane so he could fly himself around the US and Canada to personally meet with his field men for the magazine. His son David and daughter Nancy also worked for the magazine during their high school years. In 1979, Murray sold his
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