Clinton McIntire Jr. 1926 -2026

Clinton McIntire, Jr. (many knew him simply as Junior) was born in Dallas, June 19, 1926, to Clint and Cleo McIntire. At about age 2 the family moved to a ranch near Bluff Dale, the Three Circle, belonging to Sid Richardson, one of the original wealthy oil families in Texas. At age 6 Clinton rode his horse to a one room school in Cedar Point. At age 14 he drove 5 other children to school. 

On June 8, 1944, less than two weeks from his 18th birthday, as many young men of his era were doing, Clinton enlisted in the military. He tells the story of traveling by train to the first assignment in the Navy and then his time in the Palau Islands. He served on a gunboat that followed a minesweeper in the Pacific. The minesweeper would cut the mines loose and when they floated to the surface, Clinton’s boat would then shoot them until they exploded. 

 After completing school through the 9th grade in Bluff Dale, Clinton attended school in Tolar. While there, he met Cynthia Wann. After returning from the Navy, he and Cynthia were wed on June 28, 1947. They would be married for 73 years until her death in 2020.From the late 1940s to 1964 Clinton worked almost exclusively on the farm/ranch at Paluxy. He and Cynthia had three children: Terry in 1950, Sheila in 1954, and Sharon in 1960. In 1964, 

Clinton began working at Bell Helicopter in Fort Worth, where he worked until 1988. Every day for almost the entire time Clinton worked at Bell, he played in what as well might have been the World Championship Domino Tournament at meal breaks; the best domino players in the world were right there at Bell. 

 After Clinton retired, he and Cynthia caught the traveling bug. They saw much of the country from tour buses. And some of the world beyond on a cruise. In 1992, they bought a travel trailer and joined the Comanche Peak SAMS. They camped and socialized with this same group almost every month for over 20 years. 

Clinton always had a strong sense of community and was active in local issues. In the early 1980s, a lake was proposed that would flood the family farm. Clinton, his family and neighbors organized for a fight that would last for the next 20 years. Ultimately, they were successful. 

 April 7,2006 Dad was in a serious farm accident. He was run over by a farm tractor. His injuries consisted of an almost severed ear, a fractured skull, broken ribs on both sides of his chest, a broken collarbone, a broken leg and quite a few bruises and abrasions. He spent about 3 weeks in the hospital before going home and was back on a tractor within a few months 

After Cynthia’s death in 2020, he remained at home on the farm mostly happy and independent; then with a wonderful team of family and caregivers helping him during his last days. His life on Earth ended 5 months short of his 100th birthday. Clinton is survived by his children son Terry & wife Nancy, Sheila & husband Butch, and Sharon & husband Ken, 7 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren.

The Early Years

Junior was born in Dallas, June 19, 1926 to Clint and Cleo McIntire. At about age 2 the family moved to a ranch near Bluff Dale. The ranch, Three Circle, belonged to Sid Richardson, one of the original wealthy oil families in Texas. Clinton started to school in a one room school in Cedar Point.





Ms. Winnie Browning, now 92, was once a school teacher in Cedar Point. She was 18 years old and had about 25 students, grades 1-8, in a one-room school. She says there was a mesquite tree behind the school which served as a hitching post for the mounts of students who rode to school on horseback. The only water source was a cistern. Everyone drank from the same dipper. The school had a wood burning stove on which Winnie sometimes cooked a pot of soup or beans. On her first day of teaching, Winnie bent over to one of the first-graders and asked for his name. The reply came "Clinton McIntire, Junior, but they just call me Junior." "When is your birthday?" she asked. "It's N_____ Day" he replied. Junior and his older brother, Lloyd, and sister, Irene all attended school in Cedar Point. They lived on the Three Circle Ranch and rode a horse to school. Later they attended Bluff Dale and Tolar schools.

From interview with Winnie Browning by Sheila Maine




Clint (his dad) share cropped some farm land on the ranch along with managing the ranch. They raised broom corn, popcorn and some other cash crops. They would travel to Keene, TX to sell the tassels harvested from the broom corn. In Keene this crop was made into brooms. One of the neighbors was an excellent trapper. Clinton remembers one time when the neighbor trapped 4 particularly large raccoons. After they were skinned, so the skins could be sold. Clint and the trapper dressed them out and Cleo made chili from them. To quote Clinton “That was the best chili I ever had”.



Clinton Jr. and I both grew up on the Three Circles Ranch in Earth County, as you know; I remember moving from Ft. Worth to the ranch when I was about five years old. Clinton was two or so. I do not remember living anywhere else so it was there until I went to Tarleton, from there to WW2 and I never returned but Clinton did and has lived in Hood County for the past 58-60 yrs. When we lived on the ranch we went to a one room school house at Cedar Point, sometimes we walked and sometimes we rode horses to school. We swam and fished in Richardson creek. Our dad leased all the farm land from the ranch and we grew oats, and had a lot of hay. It was a share cropping thing but the ranch bought every thing we raised and they allowed us some cotton acreage which was our money crop. Clinton and I had two acres of popcorn we raised and sold for ourselves. We hunted and trapped for some extra money, maybe we were poor but I always thought we were rich. Clinton was a much better shot than I was, so when we went hunting he almost always got something..

Lloyd McIntire, brother

When Junior was still very young, probably 7-9, there was a new fence built around the Three Circle ranch. Dad was the water boy for the crew of local men. He carried the water in a cart behind his pony. This was when he first had the nickname Tuffy. Because the nicknames Tuffy and Junior were mostly used, many never knew his real name.


Reminiscing about my cousin and special friend, Clinton (Junior) McIntire:
The first time I remember seeing Junior was when my family paid a Sunday visit. He and his family were living on a cattle ranch west of the Paluxy River and south of bluff dale. His father was ranch manager. On that visit and others Junior, his brothers and I tried our hand at fishing, swimming, and hunting.
The first year I played football at Tolar, Tolar played Bluff Dale. I'm not sure who won, but I was surprised to find Junior playing half-back. He was in football uniform from the waist up; below that he was wearing blue jeans and leather cowboy boots. Junior's team mates called him "toughie". He soon proved why. He ran very fast, boots and all. And if he saw someone was going to tackle him, he tried to run right through them. He hurt you!

Jerry Barton, cousin

Dear Dad 1/1/21 Holidays

 

I always think of past holidays this time of year. Remember mom always greeting her siblings loudly with “Chrismas eve gift”; but never knew the origin of this. Many years we spent Christmas eve at Grandma Wann’s house with Santa Claus almost always making it to our house before we got home later in the evening. We must have been on the earliest part of his route.




I recall riding around with Grandad McIntire looking for a prospective Christmas tree growing in a neighbor’s pasture fence. The small misshapen cedar trees looked nothing like traditional trees, but they were my favorite. And I looked forward to the gumdrop tree Grandmother decorated with colored gumdrops, to this day this was was the only time I ever ate them.




While most think of fireworks for New Year’s or July 4th, not so with my cousins and me. Fireworks became a Christmas tradition.




It’s been a very different holiday this year. First-year without mom and so much isolation from family and friends because of the pandemic. Looking forward to a healthier and happier new year.

Mom and Dad 60 years 06/07

December 2006

 

Dad and Mom have been doing this volunteer activity for several years. This picture is from the local newspaper, taken in mid December. The extra hand in the picture belongs to Mom.

Clinton Junior McIntire

80 Years & Counting
HAPPY BIRTHDAY

In the Navy

On June 8, 1944, less than two weeks from his 18th birthday, as many young men of his era were doing, Junior enlisted in the military. He tells the story of traveling by train to the first assignment in the Navy. He considered himself old enough to smoke and bought a pack of Lucky Strikes for the train trip. He got so sick he never smoked again.

Dad served on a gunboat that followed a minesweeper in the Pacific. The boat was a troop landing craft (LICL) converted to hold three 40mm guns. This conversion was an LCIG, his boat was the LCIG729. The minesweeper would cut the mines loose and when they floated to the surface Junior’s boat would then shoot them so they would explode.

Love and Marriage

After completing school through the 9th grade in Bluff Dale, Junior attended school in Tolar. While there he met Cynthia Wann. After returning from the Navy, he and Cynthia were wed on June 28, 1947. They immediately moved to Florida where, for the next 6 months, Junior worked with his brother Lloyd installing floors. They then moved back to Dallas for one month and to Fort Worth for one month. By early 1948, they were in Paluxy, Texas, where Cynthia grew up. They have been there ever since.

Life In Paluxy

From the late 40s to 1964 Junior worked almost exclusively on the Farm at Paluxy. He and Cynthia had three children: Terry in 1950, Sheila in 1954 and Sharon in 1960. He and Cynthia worked to make a living on the farm, living in the old rock house on the place, built in about the 1860s. In 1963 they built the house where they now live, just up the hill on the 100 acres they had purchased a few years earlier.



I imagine it was when we were in our late twenties to early thirties when Mr. Wann mentioned finding a large oak tree with bees in it. There was quite a bit of discussion about how to go about robbing a bee tree like this one with its large amount of honey, without getting stung, or at least not much. Junior volunteered mesh fruit or onion sacks to go over our heads, and even had a large long bladed chain saw we could use. We were soon on our way. Just Junior and I, everyone else was busy. We arrived at the site, up on Pony Creek. First we built a fire to generate some smoke. Then Junior cut the tree trunk, dropping the tree in the Pony Creek channel. Junior volunteered to walk up the slanting tree trunk with the chain saw to about 8 to 10 feet off the ground, since he was familiar with operating the saw. Then he began to saw out a section of the tree trunk near the bees, bending over the running saw. When he lifted the running saw to move the blade to a new location, a tragedy almost occurred. The chain saw blade caught on the mesh fruit sack and jerked the blade up into Junior's face. Junior turned loose of the heavy (now stopped) saw, which fell to the ground and jerked Junior off the trunk and onto the ground too. Junior then grabbed his bleeding face, said "I’m hurt", and took off running. He later said he was trying to get away from the bees. I had to catch him down the trail a way before I could examine him to see the extent of his injury. All the time I was thinking that he possibly had his head partly cut off and I was sick, thinking how unnecessary this activity was. It turned out the saw stopped just in time. The blade cut Junior's chin, cheek, and a 1" slit in his eyebrow, which bled profusely. We were so happy it wasn't worse. I don't know who finished robbing the bee tree, but it wasn't us.

Finally, when we had one or two children, I was concerned about who would raise them if my wife and I were killed simultaneously in an aircraft crash, car wreck, explosion, etc. We went to Junior and Cynthia and asked them if they would take our children and raise them with proper moral upbringing, etc. And they said they would. How nice, good, and kind. I appreciate that --- then and now.
Jerry Barton, cousin








In 1964 Junior began work at Bell Helicopter in Fort Worth, where he worked until 1988. He sometimes claimed to be road foundered over the years of commuting 1 ½ hours each way for work. But usually he was in a car pool and he made some very good friends over the years. Every day for almost the entire time Junior worked at Bell, he played in the World Championship Domino Tournament at meal breaks, and the best domino players in the world were right there at Bell.

Junior may have saved the life of one of his coworkers who started to choke one day at work. The coworker couldn’t talk or breathe. He had recently seen a demonstration of the Heimlich maneuver on TV. He was able to successfully use it on his friend.

Dad

Ropes of Farming

I have always known that Mom & Dad loved each other and have always done everything together. It was never so obvious to me as when Mom had her heart surgery. When they were about to take her to the operating room it seemed Mom looked at Dad and everyone else disappeared. A look of pure love and support twinkled in their eyes. I would say the same was true with Dads recent stay in the hospital. He wanted Mom there; she was the one that really mattered. Dad and Mom have given us the gift of loving each other so deeply.

Recently, when we have been trying to learn the ropes of farming Dad said I could learn to drive the tractor. It only took 45 years, maybe I should have been a boy.

Anyway, Mom said Dad would always tell her she could do something and she never doubted herself because he told her she could. Too bad we cannot bottle this up and sell it. Mutual respect, love and confidence for almost 60 years.

Sharon

Skiing

Somewhere around the late 1960's, Lake Granbury was born. Dad bought a used ski boat. It wasn't too much to look at, but many of my favorite family memories are of times in that boat. I really don't remember that Dad ever skied, but he was a great driver for Terry, myself and anyone else who came along and wanted to water-ski. I remember that many times we would connect the boat to the pickup,
Sheila

Mom would prepare a picnic supper and we would meet Dad in Granbury on his way home from working all day at Bell. After eating a bit, he would pull us around the lake until near sundown. Those were fun times.

Driving Lessons

One of my earliest recollections is learning to drive from Dad. When I was 4 or 5 Dad used to let me steer the old Ford pick up truck in the hay fields. He would pull the hand throttle out slightly and get the truck moving very slowly. My job was to steer the truck between 2 rows of hay bales without running over any. Dad or Dad and a hired hand would load the hay as we slowly moved down the row. When the truck was loaded, Dad would step onto the running board, open the door, slide me over and stop the truck. Most of the time I think I did pretty good but I do remember a couple of very big slow bumps as I ran over the one of the bales.

As I got a little older (8 or 9?), I could reach the clutch well enough to start and stop the truck, but not always very smoothly. On more than one start, my clutch release was so rough much of the hay was shaken off the truck. Dad and the hired help had to reload the truck several times as I learned. As I think back, I must have shortened the life of a few clutches. Dad was always very patient with my driving, even when he had to reload the whole truck.

About as early as I learned to drive the truck in the fields, I learned to operate the old farm tractors we had. By the time I was 10 or 11, I was plowing or cutting hay by myself. We had this model 60 John Deere, which was made in the early 50s’. It had a hand clutch you pushed to engage and pulled to disengage. The front wheels were the old tricycle style, set very close together.

Not too long after I was able to operate the tractor in the field, Dad let me drive from our house to one of the fields we farmed. This was quite a treat. I drove the tractor, in road gear the 2-3 miles running wide open all the way. I was probably going about 12-13 miles per hour, but sitting between the big rear tires with no fenders, the wind in my face, going down a gravel county road, I thought I was really moving. Then I had to stop.

My destination was a field Dad was renting from a couple of elderly neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Byrum. There was a 90-degree turn over a slight mound of gravel into the field. The field gate consisted of two parts, a small old single metal bed frame on one side and a much longer very weathered wooden gate opening out in the opposite direction. I approached still at top speed. A few feet before the entrance I pulled the throttle back, but momentum carried me at near the same speed. I was going too fast to safely make the turn and started pushing the clutch, and then frantically pushing the clutch so I could brake and make the turn into the field. The clutch didn’t release and I pushed harder. Dad, who was watching from just inside the gate yelled “Pull the clutch”, but I was going too fast and went straight over the old wooden gate and through the barb wire fence. As the fence was splintering and wires were snapping, I realized what Dad was yelling and pulled the clutch. The engine disengaged and I was soon stopped. The old gate looked like it had exploded. Some pretty good kindling was all that was left. For the next hour I helped Dad fix the fence and build a new gate. Because wire and a couple of cedar posts were our only building materials, we built a wire gate. I think Dad was afraid Mr. Byrum would be upset with the loss of his old gate. As it turned out, he had no attachment to the old gate and actually seemed glad to have the lighter weight wire gate. And my driving improved.

Terry, from www.pulltight.blogspot.com

Cow Chips

Cow Chips and A Lot of Love
When I think of Junior, what comes to mind right away is that he sets an example of the ideal family man. His ambitions are focused towards goals of providing for loved ones. The McIntire priorities are hard work, taking care of family, and community awareness. Cynthia and Junior accept everyone as an individual and only have everyone’s best interest and happiness in mind. Ever since meeting Junior and Cynthia on a November day in 1985, I immediately felt accepted as part of the family.
Nothing is ever too much trouble or inconvenient for Junior and Cynthia. From running out to pick up Shooter, the favorite granddog, to babysitting the kids when Terry and I were working, to taking care of me during illness, I know I can always count on them.
Out of all the love and support Junior and Cynthia have shown me, the most precious gift is their active role as grandparents to Lauren and Austin. From infancy and as they grow to adulthood Memaw and Papaw have been warm, giving and loving grandparents. Some of my fondest memories are of them holding and caring for Lauren and Austin when they were babies. Austin has always relished in the role of grandchild. At age 2 he was wandering through the pasture with a dried cow chip. Papaw picked Austin up and as they walked towards me, Austin flung the chip towards me from the protection of papaw’s arms. As I jumped and yelped, I am not sure who laughed the hardest. All I recall is three generations of McIntire’s laughing at me. That laugh was the most noise I have ever heard from Junior in over 20 years.
Junior and Cynthia have treated me as a daughter I am fortunate to be part of the McIntire family. When I reflect on my life achievements, it is Lauren and Austin McIntire that stand out the most. They are the light of my life and I am proud that they will carry on the McIntire name. Junior and Cynthia’s influence contributed in many ways to the people Lauren and Austin are today.

Junior, enjoy your 80th birthday and we look forward to sharing the years ahead together. Mom and Dad, thank you for all your love and support!
With love, Nancy

Slideshow

Putting the video slide show and book together with Dad for Papaw was more fun than work. Papaw has accomplished incredible things in his 80 years with us and I really enjoyed looking through and organizing all of the old pictures. For the most part, I see Dad and Papaw as almost the same person except for a thirty year age difference. Dad inherited moral ethics and values from Papaw that I’m lucky enough to have myself.
I’ve never known anyone who worked so hard to provide for his family. Papaw has always been selfless and caring. Even now, when he and Meemaw stay in Arlington to watch Austin and I, Papaw wakes both of us up early and we all eat breakfast together. On really cold days Papaw always goes outside and starts my car for me so its heats up before I leave for school. I really admire Pawpaw and Meemaw, and the unconditional love and respect they have for each other. I remember staying at the ranch when I was younger and watching them sit out back together every morning, drinking their coffee and watching the sunrise. After Papaw’s accident, Meemaw refused to leave his side. I don’t blame her. After almost 60 years of marriage and even more years of history together, I wouldn’t be able to leave either. I hope to find the same relationship they share with someone some day.


Lauren McIntire

Cowboys don't wear nail polish

When I was much younger, maybe 7 or 8, I was talking to my grandma and telling her how much I loved being out in the country and she simply replied that everyone did when they were younger. I knew I wouldn’t be like that though. I am always going to enjoy being out at the farm and so far those are still my feelings. Even though I’m out in the country less and less, most of my favorite memories are out there. I remember spending weeks at a time out there waking up early having the best breakfasts and then learning how to drive a tractor. I would sit in grandpa’s lap with my hands on the steering wheel helping drive. That’s one thing I will never forget. My most fond memory of the farm though is going out and feeding the cows with my grandpa. Out there I always felt intimidated by the enormousness of the cows especially because at that time I was barely over 3 feet tall but grandpa would just walk through the herd so nonchalantly that I couldn’t do anything less than admire and love him. I still do and I always will, which is something that I can only say about a handful of people in my life. My grandfather is one the greatest men I know and will ever know and it would be the achievement of a lifetime if I could live to be the man that he and my father both are.

Austin McIntire

Role Model

J.C. Haley

This Old Cowboy

"This Old Cowboy"

He grew up in one of the smallest Texas towns,
Workin' hard on the farm 'til the sun would go down,
He had a little pony he road to school that would buck
him off on the way,
And his old friends from school still call him tuffy
to this very day,
(chorus)
This old cowboy is wise beyond his days,
This old cowboy will never change his ways,
If you know him well, you'll admire the way he lives,
And if I ever make it to 80, I hope to be half the man
he is,
He joined the navy at 17 to fight in WWII,
Nobody made him it was just the right thing to do,
He came back home found a pretty little country girl
to make his wife,
They had three kids and after over 50 years later
she's still the love of his life,
(Chorus)
And now he's livin' proof that nothin' runs like a
deere,
Because one ran him over and they said he wouldn't
make it, but he's still here,
They sure don't make them like they use to
any more,
They really broke the mold when they made
my papa for
sure.
(Chorus)

Clint Maine

Feeding the Cows

I remember watching Papaw feed the cows from a window from my parents house and the big grin he would get on his face when he would do a donut in the pasture to sling the hay off his flatbed pickup.

April Maine

Traveling Man

After Junior retired, he and Cynthia caught the traveling bug. They have seen much of the country from tour buses. And some of the world beyond the States on a cruise. In 1992, they bought a travel trailer and joined the Comanche Peak SAMS. They have camped with this same group almost every month to this day.