A Hereford Matriarch

©Guy Atchley

GRACE WYSTRACH, A HEREFORD MATRIARCH

By Dean Fish, PH.D.

Matriarch is defined as a woman who is the head of a family or tribe. When you meet Grace Wystrach, you soon come to realize that her family and tribe are not only widespread and strong, but that her influence reaches both far and near. It is hard to go anywhere in southern Arizona and not see some of her impact.

Grace was born to Bob and Betty Townsend in Marfa, Texas. Both Bob and Betty were from Garden City, New York and ended up out west through various reasons. Grace describes her maternal grandfather as a happy wanderer who needed an active lifestyle. He eventually bought a ranch in northern Colorado and started a dude ranch. It was at this dude ranch that Bob and Betty met. Bob had a case of blood poisoning and had come west for his health. In the meantime, Uncle Ed had bought a ranch in Marfa during the Great Depression. Bob and Betty managed this ranch, but eventually came back to the Colorado ranch.

In time, the Colorado ranch was put up for sale. This, in combination with a huge blizzard in the winter of 1949, encouraged the Townsend family to look for another place. Bob had driven past Rain Valley, just east of Sonoita, Arizona and inquired if it was for sale. He made a deal on it with Mr. Symington and bought it. Grace remembers that he introduced the ranch to the family by having them watch Red River, which was primarily filmed on the ranch. The classic Howard Hawks film that starred John Wayne and Montgomery Clift, showed the family a place that was a whole lot warmer than Colorado.

Upon arrival at the ranch, Bob started working on improving the Hereford herd that was there. Early on, Bob experienced chest pains and was taken to the Tombstone Hospital. In those days, this required a six week stay. Betty, along with Grace and her two sisters, Pamela and Sally, ran the ranch. They had to grow up fast. This experience provided many of the fundamental life skills that served Grace so well her entire life. In addition, a lifelong passion for the Hereford breed was born here.

Grace attended Elgin Elementary School and was a 4-H member. In fact, she was one of the 4-H beef showmen at the first 4-H show at the Santa Cruz County Fair along with Patty Holbrook and Dick Schorr. Grace started high school at Patagonia and completed her junior and senior year at St. Joe’s Academy in Tucson. Upon graduation she enrolled at the University of Arizona and majored in Education. Grace wanted to be a veterinarian, but that was not a career path encouraged for women at that time.

Grace was teaching school in Garden Grove, California and living it up on Balboa Avenue when she met Michael Wystrach. Michael was a U.S. Marine pilot stationed nearby at El Toro. Grace describes not being really impressed with him at their first meeting. However, Michael pursued her through friends and they were married seven months after they first met. Michael went to Vietnam and the family was stationed in North Carolina, Virginia and El Toro, California. After an injury in Okinawa, Michael retired from the Marines. In the meantime, Bob needed more help at the ranch, so the family decided to move back to Sonoita in June of 1978. While Grace went to work on the ranch, Michael started pursuing a real estate development career. They also purchased the iconic Steak Out and Mercantile in Sonoita in 1978 from Gail Wingfield.

Shortly after returning to Sonoita, daughter Audrey was sent to the Arizona National Livestock Show with John Sullivan. This experience cemented Audrey’s passion for showing cattle and started a whole new chapter for the Wystrach family. Audrey fell in love with a Las Vegas Ranch heifer that Larry Stark had named Vicky. This started their family foray into the registered Hereford world. Shortly thereafter, Grace bought 10 pairs of Line 1 registered Herefords from Harold Thompson. Added to these cows were genetics from J Bar F in Texas and Hooper Herefords in Springerville. The registered Hereford business soon became an important part of the family and they were very successful in a short time. The family showed cattle at jackpots all over the state, Arizona Nationals, State Fair and National Junior Expos.

Grace served as a 4-H Beef Leader as well as an advisor for the Arizona Junior Hereford Association. She also helped to coach judging teams that were very successful. Her leadership during this era influenced many young people who became Ag Teachers, Extension Agents, entrepreneurs and business owners. The Wystrach family hosted many judging workouts and Hereford Field days at their ranch. Part of Grace’s legacy is through the many young men and ladies that had the experience of being in her 4-H club, judging team or got to attend the Junior Hereford Convention in Kansas City. She still says that her best employees at the Steak Out are 4-H members. They always are hardworking and responsible.

The Hereford industry in southern Arizona has changed and become more difficult. Despite having some of the premiere genetics available to commercial cattlemen, it is challenging to sell Hereford bulls for a fair price. The Wystrach family uses leading technology like artificial insemination and embryo transfer to continue to produce high quality bulls and heifers. Their bulls generally top the grading and are the high sellers at consignment sales.

©Guy Atchley

To truly understand Grace’s legacy, one must look at her children. Oldest daughter Andrea is an accomplished photographer and currently lives in the Sonoita area with her husband, Ted Walker. Audrey is a DVM in the Austin, Texas area and is revolutionizing veterinary care with her company ZippiVet. Alex Flanangan has worked with NBC and the NFL as a sportscaster. Amie is following in her mother’s footsteps and has taken a lot of the day to day management of the cow herd over. Michael is the perpetual entrepreneur and is the CEO of Freshly, Inc. Mark is the lead singer for the wildly popular group Midland. In addition to these children, there are countless others who have been beneficiaries of their kindness and good example. That is a true matriarch.