Paul Frederick Engler peacefully passed from this life on May 3, 2024, at the age of 94. He was born on August 23, 1929, in Stuart, Nebraska, to Henry Paul Engler and Jenny Gill.
He was born an entrepreneur with a love of cattle. He bought his first herd at the age of twelve. Engler graduated from High School at the age of fifteen and continued on to the University of Nebraska, graduating in 1951. In 1960, he founded Hereford Feedyard and became an executive at Iowa Beef Packers in 1972. He moved to Dumas, Texas, in 1975 and founded Cactus Feeders.
In 1996, Engler was the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against Oprah Winfrey after her talk show ‘Oprah’ aired an episode about food safety. It included a segment on mad cow disease which had recently killed cattle in England. A guest on the show predicted the disease would eventually plague the U.S. beef industry. Winfrey declared that the discussion “has just stopped me cold from eating another burger. I’m stopped.”
The Texas Beef Group filed a lawsuit in federal court.
“I couldn’t help but be infuriated,” Engler said at the time, describing his reaction to Winfrey’s segment on beef. “I sat there and couldn’t hardly believe what I was seeing.”
They sued under a new “veggie libel” law that made a person liable for making false statements about the safety of food. Although the jury in the case decided on Oprah Winfrey’s favor, Engler said he believed the suit was the right decision, despite the outcome.
“I think we did some good,” Engler told the Amarillo Globe-News in 2011. “After that, I think they were more careful about getting good experts and people that had good reputations and so forth that could make statements on an authoritative basis. I think we cleaned up her act.”
Engler received numerous awards and recognition in the industry throughout his career. In May of 2022, he received an Honorary Ph.D. in Business Administration and Agriculture from West Texas A&M University from both the Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business and the Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences.
In 2009 Engler was inducted into the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame.
Engler valued the opportunities that God and the business world provided him, and as a result, Paul’s legacy is not confined to his lifetime. It thrives through the University of Nebraska, West Texas A&M University, and the Paul F. and Virginia J. Engler Foundation. Paul’s influence and commitment to excellence extended far beyond his professional life, personally touching the lives of many.
Engler was preceded in death by his wife, Virginia.
Engler is survived by Michael Engler and wife Dalia, Teresa Raizen (†) and husband Dan, Matthew Engler, Mark Engler, Jennifer Coleman and husband Tom, and Sara Cady and husband Steve. He also leaves grandchildren Rachel, Nat, Garrett (†), Ryan, Ben, Claire, Jaxon, Emma, and Sofia, and four great-grandchildren Able, Trevor, Tyler, and August.
Engler is also survived by stepdaughters Claudia Gilson and husband John, Cathleen May and husband Jeff, and Caroline Faulks and husband Steve. Paul leaves his beloved sister, Katherine Anderson.
Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, at 10:00 at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, 4100 S. Coulter Street, Amarillo, TX 79109. The family requests that all memorials be sent to Catholic Charities at PO Box 15127, Amarillo, TX 79105.
