Beauregard Brite White

Beauregard Brite White was welcomed into Heaven on June 23, 2025. He had suffered from great stress over the last few years, the painful loss of his wife Kathleen last year, and finally the scourge of cancer. He is now with Jesus and at peace.

Beau was born on January 4, 1954 in Marfa, Texas to James White, Jr. and Jane Brite White. He grew up on his family’s Brite Ranch with its stunning views and abundant wildlife. The Brite Ranch, then owned by his mother and her sister, Nancy Brite Lynch, boasted Capote Falls, the highest waterfall in Texas, and a famous herd of Hereford cattle established by his great-grandparents.

Beau took naturally to being a cowboy and was skilled with cattle, all domesticated animals, wildlife, and the many chores associated with ranching. Beau was popular in school and, while a good student, he was an exceptional athlete. In junior high, he played football as center on offense making a name for himself as tough and determined. In high school, Beau played football all four years for the Shorthorns achieving All District each year and All West Texas his final year. His jersey was #54, same as his birth year, and he was described by his classmates as a handsome and remarkably skilled football player. Beau took Spanish in high school, joined the Spanish club and remained fluent throughout his life. He excelled at high school golf, and was the campus “cool guy” driving his red Mustang. Beau graduated from Marfa High School in 1972.

Beau initially attended Sul Ross University in Alpine to be on the football team. But after one year, he transferred to Texas Christian University where he pledged Phi Delta Theta fraternity, later becoming an officer and pledge trainer. He was popular on campus, always up for fun and sometimes mischief, and invariably surrounded by a large group of devoted friends. Beau graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He returned to Marfa to take charge of J.E. White and Sons’ registered cattle herd at the Chispa Ranch which was near the Brite Ranch, but was separately owned by his mother. Beau thoroughly enjoyed the tough but fulfilling life of ranching. He told many exciting stories of hunting predators, including mountain lions, who often preyed on the calves of his family’s cattle.

Beau became involved in ranching organizations including the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA), the American Hereford Breeders Association and the Texas Hereford Association. Always a leader, Beau was valued by other ranchers for his encyclopedic knowledge of cattle breeding. Beau became a director of the TSCRA in 1995 and became an honorary director after 2016. He became the president of the Texas Hereford Association in 1994. He served on the American Hereford Association (AHA) board of directors 2000-2003 and as board president in 2003. The AHA states that Beau’s leadership “ushered in a golden era for the American Hereford Association.” Beau advanced the Certified Hereford Beef brand, helped unify the Horned and Polled Hereford organizations, supported growing youth programs, and expanded the AHA’s international footprint especially in Latin America and Australasia. Beau always made sure to make cattlemen gatherings fun for the children as well with educational programs geared to them and with plain fun activities like kite flying field shows and dog races with his own Jack Russell Terriers.

By his late 30’s Beau was happy as a bachelor rancher and seemed destined to live out his life that way in West Texas. But everything changed when he was set up on a date with Kathleen Hartnett, a smart and beautiful lobbyist in Washington for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. They married in 1993 with Kathleen leaving the city and settling with Beau in a ranch house on the Chispa Ranch. Within a few years, however, Kathleen received a series of senior political appointments in Austin until finally she was named Chairman of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) by Governor Perry. Beau and Kathleen found a farmhouse in Rosanky (Bastrop County) that was close to Austin and suitable for their growing hobby of raising Jack Russell Terriers. Beau worked several years for Bluebonnet Electric in Bastrop before devoting himself fully to raising dogs and supporting Kathleen’s public service career. Additionally, Beau had his own part-time public service career when he was appointed to the board of directors of the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank, El Paso Branch from 1996-2001, and again later when Governor Perry appointed him to the Animal Health Commission in 2007.

For many years, Beau and Kathleen bred a nationally award-winning line of Jack Russell Terriers, under their registered kennel name, High Range. They attended regional terrier trials across the US, but always had dogs suitable to the national show of the Jack Russell Terrier Club of American (JRTCA) in Maryland. Their kennel became the “go to” place for people seeking top-performing dogs. Beau served on board of the JRTCA from 2010-2016 and was an expert on breeding, showing, training, doctoring and loving Jack Russell Terriers. Beau found a way to mix dogs and cattle when he began organizing terrier races at TSCRA cattle shows for the children’s enjoyment. Together, Beau and Kathleen formed many deep friendships across Texas, the US and the UK with other dog lovers. Beau stopped breeding terriers after Kathleen’s dementia limited her participation. Without her, Beau said it just wasn’t fun anymore.

Beau loved fishing, hunting and the outdoors in general. He hunted many whitetail deer, mule deer, pronghorn antelope, and mountain lion over the years. He was a superb guide, always taking good care of visiting hunters at the Brite Ranch. Beau was an excellent wing shot and even set up a great skeet range at High Range to entertain the steady stream of visitors he and Kathleen always enjoyed. Beau was an authority on beef quality, and no one could grill a steak as perfectly as he could. He loved a mint julep, and he made them perfectly with his homegrown mint to be served in his monogrammed silver julep cups.

Beau was raised in the Christian Church and accepted Jesus Christ from an early age. He was descended from devoted Christian followers including his grandparents who endowed the Brite Divinity School of TCU. However, after marrying Kathleen, he faithfully went with her to Mass at the Catholic Church for over thirty years, especially to St. Mary of the Assumption in Bastrop County. He later became good friends with Fr. Jim Olnhausen of Ascension Catholic Church in Bastrop, and he enjoyed being referred to as an Honorary Catholic.

Beau was predeceased by his beloved Kathleen who died in 2024. He is also predeceased by his mother in 2010 and his father in 2013. He is survived by his adopted son, Geoff Connor, of Bastrop. He is also survived by his younger brother, McMinn (Mac) White and his wife Julie of Marfa; his nephew, Jim O’Brien and wife Melanie of Nashville, and several cousins. The family is grateful for the people who loved and supported Beau in these last difficult years.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, July 3 at Ascension Catholic Church located at 804 Pine Street in Bastrop. A lunch reception will follow at the same address.

Honorary Pallbearers are Katharine Armstrong, Terri Batzer, Susan Combs, Nixon Dillard, Bobby Gilmore, Dr. Andy Gray, Bobby Gregory, Ron Helm, Clyde Howell, Kitty Howell, Ben Love, Alfred Gillette (Bodie) Means, Jon Means, John Schneider, Dawn Thompson, and Wade Wheatley.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Jack Russell Terrier Association of America at P.O. Box 4527 in Lutherville, MD 21094-4527, or to the Brite Divinity School/TCU at P.O. Box 298130 in Fort Worth, Texas 76129, or to a charity of your choice.