Robert Alexander Macfarlane; 1946-2024

Beloved father, grandfather, great-grandfather, Bob Macfarlane, Cottonwood, CA, passed on after a short fight with cancer on Dec. 29. Bob Macfarlane was born in Duncan, Victoria Island, British Columbia, Canada on June 22, 1946. He was the youngest of five children. His father, Andy, a Scottish immigrant and lifelong dairyman, brought his family to Washington state when Bob was 12 and then on to California while working and managing some of the top dairy herds in each the region. Bob’s interest in livestock peaked while attending Galt High School and was active in playing multiple sports and FFA. He began showing cattle for himself and various producers around the state and became hooked on competing in the showring. His love of livestock led him to California State University, Chico, where he was on a successful livestock judging team in the late 1960s, coached by the infamous “Hutch” Hutchings.

He met and married Linda Campbell on April 23, 1968, in Santa Rosa, CA, through their mutual love of showing livestock. Through the years, Bob has worked with and for some of the top registered cattle operations throughout the West. He was a very astute showman and was well known throughout the industry for being extremely competitive and for his tremendous knowledge and professionalism in the care, presentation, feeding, handling and exhibition of high-quality cattle of various breeds.

He was a fieldman for the Polled Hereford Association, which led him to a nearly 20-year employment working for the Hot Springs Ranch Hereford operation in Salmon, ID, and Yerington, NV. While there, he had multiple very successful production sales through the years and showed cattle for them across the western U.S. with many American Hereford Association’s Register of Merit wins to his credit. He and Linda also ran a large Corriedale sheep flock for owner Dorsey McLaughlin and had many national champions throughout the years at the Midwest Stud Ram Sale in Sedalia, MO. He also loved judging livestock shows across the U.S. and particularly loved judging junior shows and working with youth in livestock.

After the dispersion of the Hot Springs Ranch, he relocated his family back to California and managed the Sacramento County Fair for several years. He owned and ran Echo Valley Feed in Auburn, CA, after leaving the fair industry and then went back into cattle production and worked for Wintun Ranch, Lincoln, CA; Colyer Herefords, Bruneau, ID; and Salt Creek Ranch of Hat Creek, CA. In 2005, he was lured back to the fair industry and was hired to manage the Intermountain Fair in McArthur and did so until his retirement. The combinations of his passion for livestock production, his fair and exposition experience, and dedication to his community, youth and rural way of life are what made Bob a natural fit to succeed in that position. Into retirement, Bob remained active in the cattle industry until his recent decline in health, partnering with his son, B.J., on a Hereford seedstock and club calf operation in Cottonwood, CA.

He was proudest of his four children and their accomplishments. Heather Macfarlane Thomas, and Chuck, Matt and B.J .Macfarlane have all followed in his footsteps and are all are involved in the cattle industry in one aspect or another. One of his greatest joys was seeing his children compete growing up in a multitude of activities. Various athletic fields, 4-H and FFA contests and the show ring is where you would find him with the biggest smile and swelling with pride. They competed in wrestling, baseball, football, basketball, softball and anything else they could with Bob screaming encouragement and instruction from the sideline or voicing his opinion of officiating as he rarely missed an event or activity. His love of showing cattle exposed them to cattle exhibitions all over the country and their successes were many. His favorite show to attend and compete at was the National Western Stock Show in Denver, CO. He was proud to have exhibited there over the span of over three decades. The only thing he loved better than that was watching his 12 grandkids compete in the same activities.

Bob also had a great love of four-legged creatures, and he always had a dog at his side, his most beloved being his border collie, Meggy, that everyone in the livestock industry knew well as he took her to everything he did, never leaving his side until she passed.

Bob’s hobbies included cheering loudly for the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Dodgers. He also greatly enjoyed fishing and photography and leaves behind many beautiful photos to his credit he had taken over the years.

Bob was known for having a tenacious work ethic, high tolerance for pain, outstanding integrity and relentless drive to achieve a successful outcome in everything he did. He was fiercely loyal to those that were in his circle. He was a man of actions and not words. He was modest and selfless and had no worries in sacrificing himself for the betterment of someone he cared about. He had a wicked sense of humor and a contagious laugh that was as big as he was. He loved to teach and share his experiences, especially with youth in livestock. He worked hard but played hard as well as nothing in his life was done half-heartedly. If he was in, he was all in.

Bob is survived by his wife, Carolyn Barnes, whom he married April 13, 2024; along with his four children and their families, daughter, Heather Macfarlane Thomas of Sutter, CA and her husband, Darrin Thomas, and daughters, Andrea Thomas and Amanda Thomas; son, Chuck Macfarlane of McArthur, CA, and his wife, Mimi Macfarlane, and sons, Owen Macfarlane, Ian Macfarlane, Will Macfarlane and Brady Macfarlane and daughter, Charlee Macfarlane; son, Matt Macfarlane of Loomis, CA, and his wife, Heather Macfarlane, and daughters, Makenzie Macfarlane and Mazie Macfarlane, and sons, Jackson Scorza and Christian Scorza; son, B.J. Macfarlane of Cottonwood, CA, and his wife, Melissa Macfarlane, and daughters, Addison Macfarlane, Ellis Macfarlane and Maddox Macfarlane. He is also survived by his brother, David Macfarlane, and his family of Palmer, AK.

All are invited to a celebration of life scheduled for Jan. 20 at the Tehama District Fairgrounds Auditorium in Red Bluff, CA, at 5:30 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the California Beef Expo in memory of the Robert Macfarlane Memorial Scholarship Fund. Please send to 6810 Canada Rd, Gilroy, CA 95020.