J. T. "Johnny" Neal

J.T. “Johnny” Neal Jr., cattleman, water well man, San Antonio Livestock Show volunteer, 4-H and FFA supporter, husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather passed away in Fort Worth, Texas on Saturday, June 19, 2021. The family will have a private funeral. A memorial service will be held in Pearsall, Texas at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in his memory to Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch, 600 SW 11th Ave, Amarillo, TX 79101. Johnny was born in Pearsall, Texas on October 8, 1939 to J.T. “Shorty” Neal and Lucille Cooper Neal. After living in Laredo until age 8, the family moved back to Pearsall to continue their ranching business. Johnny graduated from Pearsall High School and joined his father and uncle to continue the legacy of cattle trading in the Neal family. Johnny met Agnes Robbins at Garner State Park in 1957, and they married in 1959. If you ever spoke to Johnny for more than a few minutes, you were certain to hear stories of ranching in Mexico and south Texas, gathering cattle with nothing more than one cowboy and a dog, work being done on windmills and water wells, local politics and a lot more. He was fiercely proud of his ranching heritage and continued to raise cattle until the day he passed. He was honored many times by the Frio County Soil Conservation Service for his expertise in range management and conservation. He was equally proud of JAAR Water Well Service, a business he grew that was a perfect fit for his ranching background and his love of talking to people. When he wasn’t tending to cattle or his water well business, he was volunteering at the Frio County Junior Livestock show where he served as President for many years, at the San Antonio Livestock Show in the lamb barn, or spinning horsehair ropes and telling tall tales at the Texas Folklife Festival in San Antonio. He was also a member of the First United Methodist Church in Pearsall and served on many boards through the years. If you knew Johnny, hard-headed and passionately opinionated could be a few adjectives to describe his personality. However, he was equally passionate about his wife of 61 years, his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and three Australian Shepherds. Johnny is survived by beloved wife, Agnes Neal; children, Tammy Neal, J.T. Neal, III, and daughter-in-law, Sandra, Johna Neal-Baker and son-in-law, T. Ray Baker; grandchildren, Mattie Alexander and husband, Clay, JT Neal IV, Gavin Baker, Jackson Baker, Jami Tunnell and family; great-grandchildren, Logan and Lilah Alexander.