Perry F. Wied

Celebration of Life

Born to Arthur Leo and Annie Schuh Wied in Poteet, Texas, December 18, 1924. Passed away at home on his ranch at Crestonio, Texas, June 20, 2021.

Preceded in death by his parents; his wife Sally Lou McBee Wied; brothers Franklin, Herbert and Dillard Wied; and sister Bernice Florence Wolfshohl.

Succeeded in life by daughters Deborah Ann Wied (David Uribe), Patti Jane Smith (Jay Smith), Frances Mae Deming (Thomas Deming), and Judy Lynn Gray (John Gray); 6 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and numerous people of all ages who see him as a favorite brother or uncle.

Everybody Was Somebody to this Rancher

There’s no question that Perry Wied’s four daughters were his proudest achievement, yet so many people in his life felt special. How could it be otherwise when he would call regularly and say, “Okay, give me a report”?

In his later years—up in his nineties--Perry often placed this call while perched on his four-wheeler in the shade of a mesquite on his ranch, waiting for daughter Judy to call and summon him to supper. He was invited every evening, and her house was just a short ride down a sandy road, but he wouldn’t go without an invitation.

Perry was a kind, gentle and hard-working man, the son of a kind, gentle and hard-working father named Arthur Leo Wied. Arthur’s father and mother had purchased this piece of Duval County brush country in 1913, and the place was broken into pieces and switched hands but never left the Wied family.

As a child, a typical day for Perry started off at 3 a.m. with rounding up the cows and getting them into the barn. He and his three brothers, Franklin, Herbert and Dillard were responsible for milking around 40 dairy cows by hand before leaving for school every morning. Once their chore was done, they would either walk or ride their horses to school which was approximately 1 mile from their ranch in Crestonio, TX. If they chose to ride their horses to school Perry would take his Shetland pony while his two brothers, Franklin and Herbert, rode together on a black mare. Upon arriving home from school Perry would have to, once again, round up the cows and milk them by hand before helping with the farm duties. Depending on the season, he would have to help with either planting seeds, bailing hay, harvesting the vegetables from his mother’s garden, picking lemons from the citrus orchard or storing hay in the silo.

In 1950, Perry married Sally Lou McBee. They dated for close to two years before “Sally decided that it was time they got married”, according to Perry. After a year of marriage, the two moved into his parent’s home on the ranch to take over the dairy business, while his parents moved to McAllen to retire. The couple had four beautiful daughters together, Deborah Ann, Patti Jane, Frances Mae and Judy Lynn. Now a family of six, Perry instilled in his daughters what his parents instilled in him as a child, which was the value of hard work, dedication and responsibility. He taught all four of his daughters how to work cattle and work the land regardless of the fact that they were females. They worked by his side feeding the cows and nursing the calves. They also cleaned the milk barns on the weekends or after school. In addition to all the outside chores, the girls had to lend a hand in the housework as well with their mother. Sally Lou helped Perry with the majority of the ranch work but mainly worked in the kitchen making sure her family was fed. In 1975, Perry and Sally Wied became grandparents to their first grandchild and the last grandchild was born in 1986. All six grandchildren have started families of their own accumulating a total of fourteen great-grandchildren, 8 girls and 6 boys. The oldest being 23 years of age and the youngest being 4 years old.

Perry made a livelihood doing not only what he loves to do but all he’s ever known to do. In this line of work, a diploma or degree is not a necessity. The will to work from dusk to dawn in rain, snow, hot, or cold weather conditions without vacation or sick days is what it takes to be a true rancher. It takes a person of strength, discipline and selflessness to run a successful ranch, qualities all in which Perry encompassed.

Although he employed many ranch-hands during his career as a rancher Perry liked to do the work himself “to keep ‘er going”, as he liked to say. The reason he was been able to stick it out all these years as a dedicated dairyman, cattleman and rancher is in large part to tradition and family history as well as livelihood.

Perry loved life. He enjoyed deer hunting, a sport learned from Sally’s father. He liked to fish, regardless of whether it was on Falcon Lake or on local flooded gravel pits. Dogs were a constant part of his life; there were usually three or four of all descriptions barking at thin air and trying to keep their balance among baling wire and oil cans in the back of his pickup as it bounced along.

What he really enjoyed was sharing all of this with other people, especially youngsters.

The pickups Perry drove had a single, wonderful feature: They were owned by an adult who possessed the infinite patience to give a child the confidence to drive. Daughters, nephews, nieces, their friends, then grandkids, and then great-grandkids have learned to drive by the gentle hand of a man who showed them great care and patience.

Did pickup trucks have radios back then? Maybe so, but Perry’s didn’t. Perry supplied his own music, singing as he drove. Whether the song was from ol’ Hank or devised by Perry, it was real for the kids who rode with him.

Perry grew generations of people who love and admire him and will for as long as they live. He passed away on Father’s Day, June 20, 2021, after a long life and in the care of four daughters who adore him. There was no doom prepared for Perry, but surely a seat in Heaven, where he is surrounded by loved ones.

Serving as Pallbearers: Thomas Gray, Jason Deming, Franklin Wied, Tom Benavides, Christopher Sorrells, Cody Smith.

Honorary Pallbearers: Mark Wied, Karl (Tony) Wolfshohl, Glenn Wied, Jim Ware, Charles Schroeder, David Reyna.

Prayer Service will be at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 23, 2021 at the Funeraria Del Angel Howard Williams in Hebbronville with Visitation beginning at 4:00 p.m. Funeral Service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 24, 2021 at the St. James Episcopal Church in Hebbronville with Burial to follow at the Greenhill Cemetery in Jim Hogg County.