Norman Foos, of Nisland, Stockgrower of the Year
2009 Black Hills Stock Show Banquet and Ball
Foos, a lifelong South Dakota resident, died on Aug. 16, 2008, at the age of 54. He spent much of his life involved in the cattle industry, including operating a ranch with 500 head of commercial cows, managing a family feedlot, raising Brangus cattle and dairying.
The longtime South Dakota rancher grew up on his family’s dairy farm west of Nisland and graduated from Newell High School in 1972. He married Renee Couse in 1979 and a year later the couple moved to a ranch southeast of Hermosa where they lived for four years before returning to Nisland.
Foos began raising registered Angus in 1984 and continued until his death.
The South Dakota resident’s Angus cattle have been honored regularly in the Pathfinder Cows listing. Foos was an American Angus Association member since 1984 and a South Dakota delegate and alternate to the National Angus Association conventions several times. He also held all the offices in the Black Hills Angus Association. He was a member of the South Dakota Angus Association, South Dakota Stockgrowers Association and the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA). The South Dakota stockman was a supporter of the Future Farmers of America, Western Junior Livestock Show, the Butte-Lawrence County Fair, and the Central States Fair.
Norman and Renee’ Foos were honored as Stockmen of the Year in 2002 by the Black Hills Angus Association, named honorees of the 2007 Butte-Lawrence County Fair and received the Newell FFA 2007 Honoree Chapter Degree.
Foos was also a past member of the Nisland/Arpan Fire Department and was a member of the American Quarter Horse Association.
He and his wife have four children.
