Ronald Paul Cantrell's Obituary
Ronald Paul Cantrell of Bastrop, TX, formerly of Shamrock, TX, passed away Saturday, June 8, 2024 in Austin, TX at the age of 81 years, 1 month and 7 days. Funeral services will be held at 10:00AM on Saturday, June 29, 2024 at First Baptist Church in Shamrock, with Rev. Mark Howard officiating. Burial will follow at Shamrock Cemetery in Shamrock. Visitation will be Friday, June 28 from 4:00-6:00PM at the funeral home.
Arrangements are by Robertson Funeral Directors of Shamrock.
Ronald Paul Cantrell was born to Billy and Leone Cantrell in Shamrock, Texas in 1943. He was the oldest child of four boys and a younger sister. He and his siblings were raised on a farm and cattle ranch in Twitty near the town of Shamrock in the panhandle. After graduating from Shamrock High School, he graduated in 1966 from Texas Tech with a Bachelor’s of Science in Agronomy. He went on to receive his Masters and Ph.D. in plant breeding and genetics from Purdue University. Ronald lived a rich life filled with family and international travel. Along the way, he reconnected and married his high school sweetheart Pamila Henderson.
Professionally Ronald dedicated a large portion of his life teaching farmers how to produce higher crop yields and helping various countries achieve food security. Ron first worked for Cargill as a corn breeder and station manager in Seward, Nebraska from 1970–1975 before returning to Purdue as a professor of agronomy from 1975-1982. During his final year at Purdue, he conducted research on crop varieties and soil fertility in the West African nation of Burkina Faso. Following his stint in West Africa, he moved to Mexico City as the Director of Maize and a plant genetics researcher at the International Center for the Improvement of Maize and Wheat (CIMMYT).
In 1990 he returned to the U.S. to serve as the Department Chair for the Agronomy Department at Iowa State University. In 1998, Ron was appointed Director General of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Los Banos, the Philippines. He remained with IRRI until his retirement in 2004. He and his wife Pamila settled in Bastrop, Texas. During his extensive travels as Director of IRRI he met with numerous heads of state and visited almost every nation on earth.
During his retirement he enjoyed his time with his wife, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. He was an avid golfer and gardener (naturally). He also loved riding his Harley Davidson around Bastrop.
He is survived by his wife Pamila and their blended family of four children, Charles Cantrell and wife Shannon, Melissa and husband Alex Santa Cruz, Brent Spraggins and wife Sharon, Jennifer and husband Tim Trahan. They shared five grandchildren, Liam and Samantha Santa Cruz, Rex Cantrell, Taylor and husband Sloane Simoneaux and Austin Trahan, Two great granddaughters Charlotte and Collins Simoneaux. He is also survived by his 4 siblings Wendell, Phil, Roy and Cindy. Ron will be dearly missed by all who were privileged to know him during his extraordinary life.
In lieu of flowers, the family request memorials be made to Compassion International at www.compassion.com or the American Cancer Society at www.donate.cancer.org
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