Roll Call Tribute

(Published in) the Bandera Bulletin (on) July 12, 2011

Werner Max Lindig
Werner Max Lindig (87) passed away at his home on July 9, 2011, with his loving wife and family members at his bedside.

Werner was born to Max Christian and Frieda Lindig on June 30, 1924, at their family farm in Hye. After graduating from Fredericksburg High School in 1942, he worked on the family farm until he joined the army. He served his country for over two years, primarily in the Asiatic Pacific Theater and received an honorable discharge as a Sergeant. During his service, he received decorations and citations including the victory ribbon, campaign ribbon, three overseas service bars, and the good conduct medal. Most importantly, he received the Bronze Star with Valor for his service in Japan.

He attended Texas Lutheran College for a year, and then attended Texas A&M University where he received his degree in 1951. He married Earline Ruth Hingst on June 4, 1950. After graduating from A&M, he was an assistant county agricultural extension agent in Tom Green County (San Angelo) and the county agricultural extension agent in Culberson County (Van Horn) before coming to Bandera County in 1956 to serve as the County Agricultural Extension Agent.

He received his Masters degree in Agriculture Education from Texas A&M in 1974. He was the County Agricultural Extension Agent for Bandera County until his retirement in 1983.

Werner dedicated his life to educating everyone in community resource development, livestock and wildlife management and horticulture. He focused on developing programs for the youth in Bandera County, and was the pioneer and innovator of emphasizing the involvement and education of youth in agricultural endeavors in Bandera County.

The recognition he received for his work included the following: In 1962, he received the Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers Outstanding Service award as County Agent of the year and Vocational-Ag Teacher of the Year; in 1963, he was one of six Texas county agents who received the distinguished service award from the National County Agricultural Agents Association; in 1977, he received an official commendation for Superior Service from the Texas Agricultural Extension Service/Texas A&M University System for his outstanding achievement in reaching residents of Bandera County with “uniquely effective educational programming” that “complemented superior 4-H and youth programs;” in 1980 he received the Texas A&M/Texas Agricultural Extension Service Meritorious Service Award given by the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas; and in 1989 he received the Alton Reininger Memorial Award for dedicated years of service to the Bandera County Junior Livestock Show.

During his years as the county agent, he trained young people to compete in wool, mohair, range, grass and livestock judging competitions, and the judging teams from Bandera County were known to be formidable. The teams trained by Werner won numerous championships on state and national levels, with three livestock judging teams, two being state champions (1961 and 1975), advancing to compete at national competitions in 1961, 1973 and 1975. His love for training the youth was and continues to be reflected in the achievements of those he trained.  Many members of the teams he trained pursued careers which in some manner involved the advancement of agriculture and/or animal health.

In addition, Werner enjoyed a life-long love for fishing and hunting. His love for music was also ever-present, as he played the harmonic, as recently as his 87th birthday on June 30 for family and friends. (He even stated that he would rather play the harmonic than fish).

Werner is survived by his loving wife of 61 years, Earline Hingst Lindig; his four daughters, Kathy Lindig Hunt, Janna Ivey Lindig, Dianne Lindig Lovett and Maxine Lindig Lautenberg; his sons-in-law, Craig Hunt, Joel Lautenberg and Peter Lovett; his grandchildren Kevin Hunt, Kassandra Hunt, Kaitlyn Hunt, Alyson Ivey, Clayton Ivey, Willow Lautenberg, Max Lautenberg and Maya Lautenberg; his great-grandchildren Trevor Hunt and Karson Hunt; his sister, Anne Marie Wallace; and 24 loved nephews and nieces.

Any memorial contributions you may desire to make can be made to the following: The Grace Lutheran Church Building Fund and/or the Werner M. Lindig Memorial Scholarship Fund to be awarded at the Bandera County Livestock Show. Pastors Nancy Lund and George Schultz will officiate at the service held Wednesday, July 13, at 10 a.m. at Grace Lutheran Church in Bandera.