Billy Bob Tennison

Everyone has been influenced by a few special people in their life. For me, one of those people was Billy Bob Tennison who died in 2007. Born in 1929 Billy didn’t start out as a cowboy although he was raised in Texas. He served in the Navy, got a masters degree from Texas A&M in food technology and worked at the Southland Corporation (7-11 stores) contributing to the development of the famous Slurpee.

After retirement he moved with wife Vaughn to Gardnerville, Nevada and became a full time cowboy although travel and restoring WWII jeeps were also passions. Billy was one of those people who is incredibly accessible emotionally and after a five minute conversation you believe he’s one of your best friends. And he probably felt the same way about you. I was lucky to meet him in the 1990s and he quietly taught me more about horses and cowboy skills than anyone else I’ve ever met. Just a wonderful extremely generous man who could ride with the best of them. I have a pair of chaps and a saddle bag that he made for me. Some of my most valued possessions. I miss him.