Obituary Don Tyson

Donald John Tyson, known to everyone as Don, 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 Mr 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, Mr Tyson 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 by the University of Arkansas at its May 2010 graduation ceremony.
 
Through most of the 1950s Mr Tyson 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 Mr Tyson  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 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 Mr Tyson 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.
 
Mr Tyson had moved up progressively in the company leadership, being named president in 1966, and then becoming chairman and chief executive in 1967 when his father and stepmother were both tragically killed in an automobile-train accident in Springdale.

He continued to serve as chairman, president and chief executive until 1983, when long-time Tyson executive, Leland Tollett, was named president. Mr Tyson remained as chairman until 1995, when he officially “retired”.

In the late 1990s the company continued to grow, most notably with the acquisition of Hudson Foods in 1998. By this time, Mr Tyson’s son, John Tyson, had succeeded Tollett as chairman of the board, though Mr Tyson continued to provide guidance, particularly during the 2001 acquisition of IBP Inc.

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.
 
Mr Tyson 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, which 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. 

Mr Tyson 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 was a well-known philanthropist in Arkansas and elsewhere, supporting countless causes, primarily in the fields of education, conservation and the arts.
 
Mr Tyson is survived by his son, John Tyson, and three daughters, Carla Tyson, Cheryl Tyson and Joslyn J. Caldwell-Tyson.