Jay I. Naman

Jay Naman March 28, 1925 – February 10, 2007 Jay I. Naman died February 10 in Waco after a long illness. Funeral Services will be at 1:30 pm on Wednesday, February 14 at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Chapel with Rabbi Mordechai Rotem and Rabbie Mordecai Podet officiating. Burial will follow at the Hebrew Rest Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5:00 – 7:00 pm on Tuesday, February 13 at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Garden Room at 6101 Bosque Blvd. Jay Naman was a native of Waco and son of two native Central Texans, Wilford W. Naman and Isidora Levy Naman of Marlin. He was a graduate of Waco High School and member of the National Honor Society. He received a B.A. from Baylor in 1947. He studied Animal Husbandry at Texas Tech in 1948. He attended law school at U.T. in 1948 and Baylor in 1949. His military service included a year at Virginia Military Institute and a year in the V-12 Program at Mississippi College and Harvard University. He was an officer in the Navy for three years, two of which were spent on the USS Sphinx in the Pacific, where he witnessed two atomic bomb tests at Bikini and Enewetak. Naman retired as President of the Texas Farmers’ Union in 1981 after having served for twenty years. During that time, he served on the National Farmers’ Union Executive Committee and as vice chairman for the last year. He served on the Boards of National Green Thumb and as president of the Farmers’ Union Rural Development Association. Naman was given the “Award for Meritorious Service” in 1982 and the “Pioneer Award” in 2002. He was selected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to serve as the representative ath the 1967 meeting of the International Federation of Agriculture Producers in Rome. It was here that Naman acquired a fascination for world agricultural economics, which dominated his thinking for the rest of his life. He attended several meetings of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers in Canada, Austria and Washington D.C. In 1964, Naman was appointed to the Alliance for Progress in Latin America, where he traveled to Peru as an agricultural representative. In 1973, Naman was invited by the president of the Japanese Association of Agricultural Cooperatives to tour the Japanese agricultural and facilities. Naman’s years in agricultural economics caused him to be dedicated to the importance of a family farm-structure of agricultural. Naman’s interest in politics began at 15 when his father brought him along as a delegate to the 1938 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. In 1980, he was elected as a Texas delegate to the DNC in New York City. He was active in several livestock organizations including the Texas Swine Breeders Association and the American Red Brangus Association. He was one of the organizers of the Texas Hog Marketing Association of Waco and served as its president for four years. He was a breeder of registered Polled Hereford and Red Brangus cattle. Naman was selected Outstanding Young farmer in McLennan County in 1957. He was a charter member of the Longhorn Riding Club. He had been president of the Waco Farm and Ranch Club and chairman of the Agricultural Committee of the Waco Chamber of Commerce. He served on the Board of the National Cotton Council and the American Red Brangus Association. Naman served in various capacities at the H.O.T. Fair from its inception in 1953. He began as Junior Steer Superintendent, then elected to the Board of Directors and became president in 1989. He received the “Heart of a Volunteer” award in 2004. He remained an ex officio board-member until his death. He was a member of the Rotary Club and served on many other committees and boards including Caritas, Vanguard School, Providence Advisory Board, Strecker Museum, Waco Chamber of Commerce Governmental Affairs Committee, Texans for the Arts and the Hippodrome. In the early 1980s, Naman founded Naman Associates Meeting Consultants and retired in 2003. His other interests included farming, livestock production, viewing rodeos and flying airplanes. He was a lifelong member of Temple Rodef Sholom. Naman was preceded in death by his parents, stepson Delorn Steiner and uncles, Nathan, Lester and Robert Levy. His survivors include his wife, Virginia Clarady Naman of Waco and son William W. Naman of Austin. Pallbearers are Brent Freeman, Ed Starr, Ed Pierce, Dwight Kinard, Alex Dickie and Mike Fernandes. Honorary pallbearers are Gerald Bergen, Dr. Tom Bohannon, Coke Mills, Jim Gibbs, Douglas Guthrie, Doug Smith, John Haws, Dr. James Leo Garrett and Brad Ballard. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to the charities of choice. The family invites you to leave a message or memory in our “Memorial Guestbook” at www.wilkirsonhatchbailey.com. Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey