John F. Nye, Jr. “Jeff”, age 85, passed away April 12, 2016, in Delta, Utah. He was born February 25, 1931 to John Fremont and Myrtle Mortimer Nye in Pittsfield, MA. He grew up in Massachusetts and Rhode Island and was an active member of 4-H and worked on local farms. At the age of 19, he founded the Rhode Island Harvesting Company with several friends. The company still exists today. Jeff graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 1953, passing calculus only because he had good advice on chicken husbandry for his professor. For the next several years he served our country in the US Army, and especially enjoyed two years working Counter-Intelligence in Berlin, Germany. Returning to agriculture, he worked for the New Jersey Cooperative Extension Service in Camden County before moving to Litchfield, CT as the County Agricultural Agent in 1959. He and Barbara Ruth Brunke were married that same summer; and their son, John Benjamin, was born on Jeff’s birthday in 1961.
During his 30 years as the university’s field man in Litchfield County, Jeff worked tirelessly with area farmers to introduce and maintain improved methods in field crops and dairying. He was particularly interested in facilities design and construction and helping farm families smooth out the transfer of the family business to the next generations. Taking his responsibilities to modernize the industry seriously, Jeff was among the first to use a personal computer, lugging heavy components farm to farm as he helped with cash flows, tax planning and record keeping. Colleagues and farmers alike regarded him with highest regard, although they all, at some point, were subject to Jeff’s “Be reasonable, do it my way” discussion closer. In those same years, he mentored innumerable Litchfield County 4-H members through the Working Wheels Tractor Club and the Litchfield County 4-H Fair. An observer once jokingly accused Jeff of being “willing to lie, cheat, and steal for those kids”, a charge he happily accepted.
Jeff believed in the value of providing international cultural opportunities for rural residents of Southern New England and hosted many overseas visitors. He formed Connecticut Dairy Tours in 1972 with his long-time secretary, Dolores Mills. Over the next 35 years, they sponsored and led farm tours to South America, Africa, Europe, Australia, Canada, and around the United States.
Upon his retirement from Connecticut Extension in 1988, Jeff worked with his son, John, and daughter-in-law, Maria, at their Davies Hollow Farm in Washington, CT. On a 1994 tour to the Intermountain West, Jeff first saw Millard County, Utah. The family moved their 400-cow dairy herd out west the following summer. This chance to design and build a new dairy facility from the ground up allowed Jeff, John, and Maria to implement many of the principles Jeff had espoused to clients over the years back in New England, including the above-mentioned “Be reasonable, do it my way” exhortation. Buying feed for the growing herd, serving as bookkeeper, and enjoying the Great Basin area didn’t occupy all Jeff’s time and he indulged his interest in classic tractors as a member and competitor in the Utah Antique Machinery Association.
Jeff was a witty and entertaining host who loved to feed people. Four generations of the family and who ever happened to be visiting the dairy at the time would gather at Grampa Jeff’s house every Sunday morning for pancakes and bacon; always with real butter and real maple syrup, and his classic invitation to “Eat some more!”
Jeff is survived by numerous friends across the country and around the world, as well as son: John; daughter-in-law: Maria (Weingart); grandchildren: Gregory, his wife Kate and their daughter Emma; Peter, his daughter Tailynn and son Jaxsen; Katharine and her husband Jim Lotspeich; and his former wife: Barbara. Nye and Mortimer cousins survive him as well. He also leaves behind a devoted dog named JJ, the last in a life-long series of beloved canine companions. If it’s true that your dogs decide whether or not you go to heaven, Jeff is happily throwing balls for Laddie, Laurie, and Bootsies One through Five.
Jeff requested no services. However, his family invites you to join us in donating to the Litchfield County 4-H Foundation, 843 University Dr., Torrington, CT 06790; and to celebrate his love of sharing a good dairy tour, we will host the Jeff Nye Farewell Tour at Mountain View Dairy in Delta, Utah on October 22, 2016.