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Watt Casey: Veterinarian, Albany Rancher and Beefmaster Hall of Famer

A veterinarian who spent less than a year in practice, Watt Casey chose the ranch and bred Beefmaster cattle for decades.

Who was Watt Casey?

Watt Casey was a Texas rancher who trained as a veterinarian and then spent most of his working life with cattle. His obituary in The Cattleman records that he was born in San Antonio on August 11, 1920, and died in Albany, Texas, on February 24, 2018, at the age of 97. He bred Beefmaster cattle, and Beefmaster Breeders United inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 1998, according to the association's hall of fame list.

He went by Watt, and his full name was Watt Palo Matthews Casey. The Beefmaster community also knew him as Palo, and a BBU news post identifies Watt M. "Palo" Casey as a longtime association member.

Early life and education in Texas

Casey was the third child of Liston Agnew "Pat" Casey and Ethel Matthews Casey, both from Albany. According to the Texas A&M Silver Taps tribute, he went to school in San Antonio, Houston and Austin before graduating from Albany High School in 1938.

He attended the University of Texas at Austin and Hardin-Simmons University, then earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine in September 1943. The class year of 1943 is how Texas A&M's former students network lists him.

Wartime service and a short veterinary career

After graduation Casey served in the Army Veterinary Corps and then in the parachute infantry until World War II ended. Both the Aggie tribute and the TSCRA obituary give this sequence.

When he came home he practiced veterinary medicine full time for less than a year. His obituary says most of his life was spent as a cowboy and rancher, a change of direction the sources state without explaining why.

Ranching in Albany, Laredo and Colorado

Casey's ranches were in Albany and Laredo, Texas, and in Kiowa, Colorado, with most of his time spent in Albany. He moved back to Albany from Colorado in 1964, and the Aggie tribute notes his membership at Matthews Memorial Presbyterian Church there. Neither source describes his ranch acreage or herd size, so we do not give figures.

Over on farm.FM, the ranching section covers other Texas ranching families whose operations spanned several regions the way his did.

The Key to Casey's Success

The record on Casey is a modest one, mostly an obituary and a hall of fame list, so the lessons are drawn only from what those pages state. They describe a man who trained in a demanding profession, served in the war, and then made a deliberate choice about how to spend his working life.

Neither source claims business results, and we do not invent any. What they show is a long and steady involvement in one breed.

  • He earned a veterinary degree in 1943, which gave him a working knowledge of animal health.
  • He served in the Army Veterinary Corps and the parachute infantry before returning to civilian life.
  • He left full-time practice after less than a year to ranch.
  • He ranched in more than one region, in Texas and in Colorado, and kept Albany as home base.
  • He bred Beefmaster cattle and stayed a longtime member of the breed association.

The Beefmaster connection and the Lasater family

The breed Casey bred was developed on the Lasater Ranch. Per Oklahoma State's breed profile, Ed C. Lasater began adding Brahman bulls to a Hereford and Shorthorn herd in 1908, and his son Tom Lasater later blended Brahman and Hereford cattle with Shorthorn bulls and named them Beefmaster. Casey's obituary lists a sister, Mary, as married to a Tom Lasater, and a BBU post calls Casey the uncle of breeder Laurie Lasater, so the family ties to the breed ran close.

BBU was founded in 1961, and its history page says USDA recognized the breed as pure in 1954 and that membership rose from 300 in 1974 to nearly 7,000 by 1998, the year Casey was inducted.

Hall of Fame honor and legacy

The BBU hall list shows Casey inducted in 1998. The hall honors exceptional, visionary men and women for outstanding contributions to Beefmasters, per a BBU news post, though the public pages do not spell out what specifically earned him the honor. His obituary ran in the May 2018 issue of The Cattleman.

He was survived by his wife of 68 years, Dosia, and their children. He was buried at Lambshead Ranch Cemetery after services at Matthews Memorial Presbyterian Church in Albany. For more on the cattle he bred, a farm.FM story about Beefmaster cattle is a good next stop.

Timeline

  1. 1920Born August 11 in San Antonio, Texas
  2. 1938Graduates from Albany High School
  3. 1943Earns DVM from Texas A&M
  4. 1943-45Serves in Army Veterinary Corps and parachute infantry
  5. 1949Marries Dosia Smith on June 11
  6. 1964Moves back to Albany, Texas, from Colorado
  7. 1998Inducted into Beefmaster Breeders United Hall of Fame
  8. 2018Dies February 24 in Albany at age 97

Frequently asked questions

Who was Watt Casey?

Watt Casey was a veterinarian, rancher and Beefmaster breeder from Albany, Texas. Born in 1920, he graduated from Texas A&M's veterinary college in 1943, served in World War II and died in 2018 at age 97.

When was Watt Casey inducted into the Beefmaster Hall of Fame?

Beefmaster Breeders United lists Watt Casey as a Hall of Fame inductee in 1998.

Where did Watt Casey ranch?

His obituary says he ranched in Albany and Laredo, Texas, and Kiowa, Colorado, spending most of his time in Albany.

What is Beefmaster cattle?

Beefmaster is a beef breed developed by the Lasater family in Texas from Hereford, Shorthorn and Brahman cattle. USDA recognized it as a pure breed in 1954.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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