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Isaac Fleming Tyson Jr.
(1871-1946)
Anna Elizabeth Skelly
(1873-After 1940)
Martin Otto Ernst
(1886-1937)
Melanie R.
(1887-1973)
John William Tyson
(1905-1967)
Mildred P. Ernst
(1911-1992)
Donald John Tyson
(1930-2011)

 

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Spouses/Children:
1. Twilla Jean Womochil

Donald John Tyson

  • Born: 21 Apr 1930, Olathe, Kansas
  • Marriage (1): Twilla Jean Womochil in Aug 1952
  • Died: 6 Jan 2011, Springdale, Arkansas at age 80
  • Buried: Bluff Cemetery in Springdale, Arkansas
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bullet  General Notes:

http://www.nndb.com/people/964/000206346/

DON TYSON - 18 Aug 2000
Don Tyson was born in Olathe, Kansas, in 1930 and moved with his parents, John and Mildred Tyson, to Northwest Arkansas in 1931. Following his early education in the Springdale Public Schools, Don furthered his education at the Kemper Military Academy in Booneville, Missouri, and the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Don is the proud father of three children - a son, John, and two daughters, Carla and Cheryl.
Don Tyson's stellar career in the poultry business began in 1952 when he joined his Father's poultry operation, then known as Tyson's Feed and Hatchery. From 1952 until 1958, Don and his Father worked very closely developing and building their poultry feed and live production business. That dedication and hard work lead to the opening of their first poultry processing plant on Randall Road in Springdale, I Arkansas, in 1958. With this venture, Tyson's Feed and Hatchery became the first fully integrated poultry firm in Arkansas, and Don Tyson was the company's first plant manager. Under the leadership of John W. Tyson, the company bought Garrett Poultry in Rogers, Arkansas, in 1963, which proved to be the first of many future acquisitions. That year also saw the initial public offering of stock in the newly named company---Tyson Foods, Inc.
In January of 1967, tragedy befell the Tyson Family with the untimely death of John W. Tyson and his wife, Helen, due to a fatal automobile-train collision. That life-altering event propelled the leadership role of Tyson Foods, Inc. directly into the capable hands---at age 36---of Don Tyson. Under Don's strong and steady leadership, Tyson Foods, Inc. further expanded in 1967 by acquiring Franz Foods in Green Forest, Arkansas, making that facility the third plant to be operated by Tyson Foods.
Under the careful eye and strong leadership of Don Tyson as Chairman, President and CEO of Tyson Foods, Inc., the company grew internally over the next 25 years and completed 23 more acquisitions of poultry and other food processing facilities. In 1994, Tyson Foods became the 1l0"' largest manufacturing company on the Fortune 500 listing.
When Don stepped down as Chairman of the Board of Tyson Foods, Inc. in April of 1995 and assumed the role of Senior Chairman, Tyson Foods was the world's largest producer, processor and marketer of poultry and poultry-based food products. Don's son, John Tyson, now serves as Tyson Foods' Chairman of the Board, President and CEO. The company currently produces, processes and markets 45 million chickens per week. With sales of other products, Tyson's combined revenues in 1999 totaled $7.2 billion. Worldwide, the current Tyson team numbers 65,000 associates. Tyson Foods operates 70 food processing facilities in 17 states. A
In North Carolina, the name Tyson Foods, Inc. is certainly well-known and respected as both an industry if pioneer and a solid industry leader. It currently operates facilities in Wilkesboro, Monroe, Sanford, Harmony, Creswell, and Fayetteville, North Carolina, and employs statewide over 5,000 team members. A key component in the success of Tyson's commitment to consistently provide only the highest quality food products for its consumers is the close relationship it maintains with its 600 grower families spanning eight North Carolina counties. Tyson Foods provides jobs and a steady income to thousands of North Carolina citizens and positively impacts the state's overall economy, contributing to the success of many allied industries, as well.
In honor of Don Tyson's vision, his pioneering spirit, and his exemplary leadership skills in propelling Tyson Foods, Inc. into a model of entrepreneurial success; and in honor of his numerous contributions to the growth and development of the poultry food industry in both North Carolina and the nation, the Officers and Directors of the North Carolina Poultry Federation are very pleased to induct Don Tyson into the North Carolina Poultry Hall of Fame.
obit
to a news release from Tyson Foods <http://www.tysonfoods.com/Media/News-Releases/2011/01/Don-Tyson--Former-Tyson-Foods-Chairman-and-CEO--Passes-Away.aspx>, Donald J. "Don" Tyson died this morning (Jan. 6) following a brief illness.
Initial reports that Tyson died of cancer have not been confirmed.
Tyson, 80, was the former president and chief executive officer of the company that bears his family's name — poultry giant Tyson Foods in Springdale.
Tyson Foods spokesman Gary Mickelson was not available for comment. We at First Arkansas News <http://firstarkansasnews.net> understand how he might be busy today and will update this story once Mickelson gets in touch or Tyson Foods issues a statement regarding the death of the man who is largely credited for taking his company from a relatively small family business in the 1950s to the largest poultry producer in the world.
Update: A statement regarding Tyson's death has been released by Tyson Foods. You can click here to have a look at it <http://www.tysonfoods.com/Media/News-Releases/2011/01/Don-Tyson--Former-Tyson-Foods-Chairman-and-CEO--Passes-Away.aspx> or read the bulk of it below:
Donald John Tyson, known to everyone as "Don," son of Tyson Foods, Inc. founder John W. Tyson, and father of current company Chairman John H. Tyson, passed away today, January 6, 2011, at the age of 80, after a brief illness. He was the former Chairman of the Board and CEO of Tyson Foods, Inc., a company he led through phenomenal growth in the 1970s and 1980s.
Don Tyson was born on April 21, 1930 in Olathe, Kansas, the son of John W. and Mildred Tyson. The family moved to Springdale, Arkansas in 1931 to enable Mr. Tyson to develop his business of hauling produce from Northwest Arkansas to the larger markets in the Midwest such as Kansas City, St. Louis and Chicago. By the time Don Tyson was a teenager his father had started hauling chickens to those same markets and had also become involved in other aspects of the poultry business.
After high school in Springdale and Kemper Military Academy in Missouri, Don attended the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, studying business and agriculture, but left before graduating to join his father in the family business in 1952. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degree by the University of Arkansas at its May 2010 graduation ceremony.
Through most of the 1950s Don worked with his father to grow the family business, then known as Tyson Feed and Hatchery, supplying feed and baby chicks to local poultry producers in Northwest Arkansas. In 1958 the company became "vertically integrated" by building its first chicken processing plant in Springdale, with Don overseeing the construction and then becoming its first plant manager. The company soon began to grow by acquiring other area poultry operations, and then went public with its initial public offering of stock in 1963 under the name Tyson's Foods, Inc. This was the company name until 1972 when it was changed to Tyson Foods, Inc. The company continued to grow through the 1970s and 1980s with Don leading a series of acquisitions including Val-Mac, Lane Poultry and the 1989 purchase of Holly Farms, which more than doubled the size of the company and made it the largest poultry producer in the country.
Don had moved up progressively in the company leadership, being named President in 1966, and then becoming Chairman and CEO in 1967 when his father and step-mother were both tragically killed in an automobile-train accident in Springdale. He continued to serve as Chairman, President and CEO until 1983 when long-time Tyson executive, Leland Tollett was named President. In 1991 the company named Tollett President and CEO with Don remaining as Chairman until 1995 when he officially "retired" and Tollett was named Chairman and CEO. Tollett, along with another long-time company team member, Donald "Buddy" Wray had worked alongside Don throughout these years growing and running the company. It was often said that Don provided the vision and leadership, and that Leland and Buddy had the ability to profitably run whatever Don bought.
In the late 1990s the company continued to grow, most notably with the acquisition of Hudson Foods in 1998. By this time, Don's son John Tyson had succeeded Tollett as Chairman of the Board of the company and Don Tyson was named Chairman Emeritus. Don continued to provide guidance and support for the company's leadership team, including Tyson's 2001 acquisition of IBP, inc., a purchase engineered by his son John. As a result of the acquisition, Tyson Foods, the largest poultry producer in the world, also became the largest beef processor and second largest pork processor, with annual revenues jumping from approximately $7.5 billion to more than $24 billion.
Don was known by all to work hard, but also to play hard. He was famous the world over for his "No Bad Days" outlook on life, and well known for telling everyone that "I don't have time to have a bad time." He was also well known for his active involvement in state and national politics, having been led by his father to believe that it was a citizen's duty to take part in the political and electoral process.
He was a world renowned fisherman, a founder of the Billfish Foundation that promotes the catch and release of marlin and other billfish, and was a long time member and benefactor of the International Game Fish Association (IGFA), a group that tracks and certifies world records for fishing.
Don also created and led the Tyson Family Foundation, which among other things provides scholarships for post secondary students from communities where Tyson Foods has operations. He has been a well known philanthropist in Arkansas and elsewhere, supporting countless causes, primarily in the fields of education, conservation and the arts.
Don was preceded in death by his father John W. and his step-mother Helen Knoll Tyson, as well as his mother Mildred Tyson; and, by his wife Twilla Jean Womochil Tyson and his brother Randal Tyson.
He is survived by his son, John Tyson and three daughters, Carla Tyson, Cheryl Tyson and Joslyn J. Caldwell-Tyson; his sister-in-law Barbara Tyson; as well as two grandchildren, John Randal Tyson and Olivia Laine Tyson; and, long-time friends Gloria Gray, Ramona Caldwell, Shelby Rogers and Melissa Ramsey.
Visitation will be Friday, January 7, from 4 to 6 p.m. at Sisco Funeral Home in Springdale, Arkansas. A small, private family service is planned for Saturday, January 8, with John Tyson, John Randal Tyson, Leland Tollett, Donald "Buddy" Wray, Jim Blair, Greg Mohney, Ned Tabor and Fred Cameron acting as pall bearers.
Honorary pall bearers include Gary George, Mark Simmons, Bo Pilgrim, Jim Perdue, Archie Schaffer III, David Van Bebber, W.H. Taylor, Tom Schueck, Harry C. Erwin III, Hayden McIlroy, Paul Berry, Lloyd McCord, Woody Bassett, Clark Irwin, Butch Davis, Jim Kever, C.R. Magnus, Vahab Fatourechi, Mike Levitt, Johnny Morris, Joe Fred Starr, Herman Tuck, Dash Goff, Billy Moore, Jerry Jones, Willie Nelson, David Pryor, Dale Bumpers, Jim Compton, Mel Immergut, Joe Washington, and the 115,000 Tyson team members around the world.

addenda- Tyson's personal wealth was estimated in 2005 by Fortune magazine at $1 billion when he last made the magazine's 400 richest Americans list, ranking 346th. He first made the list in 1986 with a net worth of $275 million.


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Donald married Twilla Jean Womochil in Aug 1952. (Twilla Jean Womochil was born on 13 Nov 1931 in Elmo, Kansas, died on 31 May 2006 in Springdale, Arkansas and was buried in Stuckey Cemetery in JOhnson, Washington County, Arkansas.)




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