Former NAAA President Harold Hardcastle Passes

Harold James Hardcastle, 93, passed away on April 9, 2025, in Crowell, Texas. Harold was NAAA President in 1979 and also served as the Texas AAA President. He was awarded the NAAA Outstanding Service Award in 1979.

Harold was born August 18, 1931, and in 1949, he married Patsy (Pat) Ruth Noah. They then moved to College Station, Texas, where Harold attended Texas A&M University. He completed a degree in entomology in 1953. Upon graduation, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army. He was on active duty from 1953 to 1956, stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia and San Antonio, Texas, as a First Lieutenant in the Medical Service Corps.

Harold and Pat had three children: Melinda, Richard (Rick), and Philip. After leaving the army, Harold worked as a sales representative for Stauffer Agricultural Chemicals Company in Sherman, Texas. In 1964, Harold started an aerial spraying business in Lockett, Texas as an independent contractor for American Dusting Company. By 1974, he was the sole owner of the business, and he changed its name to Hardcastle Ag Air, Inc. and established a second location in Altus, Oklahoma. Harold’s son Rick became a partner in the business, and it continued to flourish until it was sold to Terra Chemical Inc. in 1997. Harold and Rick formed Rolling H Cattle Company and bought a ranch on Red River north of Chillicothe, Texas. They operated the ranch until Harold’s retirement in 2010.

Harold was president of the Vernon Rotary Club and a member of Texas Southwest Cattle Raisers Association. He was a member of the First Methodist Church and served as chairman of the administrative board, the finance committee and the personnel committee. He taught a young adult Sunday school class for ten years. He was a member of the board of directors of Vernon Independent School District for six years.

Harold’s wife Pat died in 1995. In 1999, he became reacquainted with a former classmate, Dr. Peggy Jo Pletcher of Boise, Idaho. Harold and Peggy were married in 2000 in Vernon, Texas.

Memorials may be made to the Cayce Lynn Hardcastle Memorial Scholarship Fund c/o Waggoner National Bank or to the First Methodist Church of Vernon. Memorial services were held this past Monday.