Bio
Jay Taylor (1902–1982), a prominent Panhandle oil executive and rancher, was born on January 24, 1902, on the Suggs Ranch in Montague County, Texas. His family later moved to the Cherokee Strip in Oklahoma, where they homesteaded a stock farm. Taylor began working in the oilfields as a teenager to fund his college education. He soon met E.P. Halliburton, who hired him and paid for his studies at the University of Oklahoma. However, when the oil boom hit the Texas Panhandle in 1926, Taylor left school to work full-time, eventually rising to executive vice president and general manager of Halliburton’s oil-well service company.
In 1927, Taylor married Imogene Herring, whose family introduced him to the cattle industry. He later established his Double H Ranch in New Mexico and the Rafter O Ranch in Texas, where he raised registered Hereford cattle. Taylor became a leader in the industry, serving as president of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers’ Association and the American National Cattlemen’s Association. He also co-founded the Amarillo Livestock Auction Company, which grew into the world’s largest independent livestock sales firm.
During World War II, Taylor served in the U.S. Army as a petroleum specialist, earning the Legion of Merit Award. He remained active in various business ventures, including the Baker and Taylor Drilling Company. Known as “Mr. Beef” for his promotional efforts in the beef industry, Taylor received the National Golden Spur Award in 1979 and was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners in 1982. He died in Amarillo on May 13, 1982.
