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Tom
Pifer
After
graduating from Kemper Military Academy in Booneville, Missouri in 1958, I
went to the University of Arizona for a year and a half. In December of 1960 I transferred
to NAU although in 1960 it was still ASC.
I
graduated in 1963 with a degree in Business Administration. Upon
graduation I went to work selling meat for Swift and Company. I was with them for about two
years when I decided to try
my hand at the Real Estate business in the Sedona area. It was during that time I
purchased a small ranch just south of Flagstaff at Newman Park. My grazing land extended all the
way to Sedona; it is gorgeous but treacherous country for gathering
cattle. Even though I no
longer ranch, I still own the deeded land there and that’s where I spend
each summer.
While
in college I married a local girl from Oak Creek Canyon with whom I had a
son. He now lives in Eagar,
Arizona with his wife and three children; 22, 20, and 14 years of
age. He is in charge of
the “Dome” at Valley High School.
While in the ranching business I
also got into the bar business.
The bar I owned was on
South San Francisco Street in Flagstaff. I eventually moved the bar to the
ranch at Newman Park where we had a steak house and held ropings during
the summer months. Needless
to say I was working around the clock and this wasn’t too good for a
marriage so consequently I lost my wife.
After
remarrying, I had a daughter who still lives in Flagstaff with her husband
and two children; a nine year old boy and a five year old girl. My second marriage didn’t last
very long after which I was
single for a long time.
He now lives in Eagar,
Arizona with his wife and three children; 22, 20, and 14 years of
age. He is in charge of
the “Dome” at Valley High School.
While in the ranching business I
also got into the bar business.
The bar I owned was on
South San Francisco Street in Flagstaff. I eventually moved the bar to the
ranch at Newman Park where we had a steak house and held ropings during
the summer months. Needless
Verdana; mso-currency-font-family: Verdana; mso-latinext-font-family: Verdana; language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial">I
went to work for NAU and had been working there for five years when I met
Nancy. She had been teaching
at Casa Grande Union High School since 1967. She was a counselor when I
met her and she had been a home economics teacher before. Since then she has been Assistant
Principal, Interim Principal,
Assistant Superintendent. Now
she is Superintendent of Casa Grande Union High School.
When we decided to marry it was either
that she quit and move to Flag or I quit and move to Casa Grande. We married in 1983 and I moved to
Casa Grande. I taught
Drafting with a provisional certificate because I had over 10,000 hours in
the field. I went back to
school and got my MA in Vocational Education eventually teaching for
twenty years.
Besides all the above I have been very
active in the Senior Pro Rodeo, Arizona Mounted Sheriffs Posse, and the
Business and Professional Roping Association. I currently run the BPRA and am
past President of the Arizona Mounted Sheriff’s Posse. I go all over the west to
jackpot ropings most every weekend.
Last weekend we were in Bullhead City for three days and in two
weeks we are off to Las Vegas.
Nancy
and I have a beautiful home right off I-10 here in Casa Grande. Come
visit. I also want to thank all the people who put the reunion together;
you all did an excellent job.
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