By Fallan Patterson
Staff Writer

R. Earl Partin’s life was filled with simple things: his love of the land, cattle ranching, harvesting citrus trees, his family. He rode horses for most of his 88 years, only stopping a few years ago.

The last son born to pioneer and legendary rancher H.O. Partin, R. Earl Partin died Aug. 20, of lung cancer.

Partin stopped smoking more than 40 years ago and was only diagnosed 30 days before his death, his son, Dave Partin, said.

“We hated to lose him but we were grateful he didn’t suffer long,” said Partin, 55, of Kenansville.

A quiet, humble man with a strong sense of loyalty, honesty and being true to one’s word, Partin often told his children a good reputation took time to build but only one act to destroy.

“His handshake was good and his word was good,” said his son. “He always instilled the idea of being a good person and going by the Golden Rule.”

The rancher rode his horses until well into his 80s and continued to hold an interest in growing and harvesting his citrus trees.

“He just loved what he did. He was always trying to breed and raise a better horse, a better cow, a better dog,” Dave Partin said.

R. Earl Partin was born at home in Osecola County and grew up during the Great Depression, where an ice cream or a cola once a month for him and his three older brothers was a treat. This experience made him a modest and frugal man who didn’t buy his first brand new truck until he was in his 50s.

He played football for Osceola High School then enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, which sent him to the Curtiss Wright Institute of Mechanical Aeronautics in California.

After graduation, Partin traveled to Europe and India as a guard on a naval ship in World War II. Once he returned from the war, he and his brothers created H.O. Partin and Sons in the 1940s, raising cattle and harvesting citrus trees for more than 40 years.

“Not too many families can do that, work together for that many years successfully,” Dave Partin said.

Once the family grew too large, the brothers separated the business and Earl Partin took over the citrus farming.

Although he spent most of his time working the land, Partin was a family man, often taking his children fishing and camping off Lake Gentry near St. Cloud, where he had built a dock.

He and his children would pick truckloads of citrus to send to friends and family for Christmas and Partin never failed to choose just the right fruit for his ambrosia salad, a holiday staple.

“If eating oranges was bad for you, he would’ve been dead a long time ago,” said his son.

Partin was a member of the Osceola County Cattlemen’s Association, the Florida Cattlemen’s Association, where he served as an honorary director, and the National Cattlemen’s Association.

“The passing of Mr. Earl Partin marks the end of an era. He and his brothers were outstanding men recognized far and wide by all people in the cattle business,” Jim Handley, executive vice president of the Florida Cattlemen’s Association, said. “He leaves behind a large family and I believe there will be Partin ranching in Osceola County as long as there are cows in Florida.”

Partin was the 2003 Silver Spurs Coca Cola Cowboy and served on the American Brahman Breeder’s Association, Farm Bureau and Osceola County Farm Service Agency.

In recent years, Partin could be found on his porch swing with his dog Polly looking out over his various fruit trees and a rose garden, a view he took in just a few days before his death, surrounded by family.

Aside from his son Dave, R. Earl Partin is survived by his wife of 62 years, Dorothy; daughters Barbara Marshall, of St. Cloud, Janie Pickering, of Lake Mary, Lida Christian, of Hondo, Texas, Cindy Chestnut, of Ft. White, and Diane Partin, of Ocala; a sister, Kathryn Bronson, of Moore Haven; 18 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.