Donald “Buddy” Wray, former Tyson Foods president, has died. He was 78. After a career that included involvement in the company’s introduction of prepared poultry foods, Wray was inducted into the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2012. Last year, he was induced into the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame, an honor awarded by the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas
Wray began his career with Tyson Foods in 1961 when he was 24 years old. He worked as a field service technician and two years later was overseeing plant and sales operations in Rogers, Arkansas. As his career continued and Tyson Foods made large acquisitions, such as Holly Farms and Tastybird, he oversaw sales, processing and marketing at more operations.
Wray retired in 2000 after serving as president for nine years. He returned to Tyson when Don Tyson asked him in 2008 and served as executive vice president. He retired again in 2014.
Outside of his work with Tyson Foods, Wray was an active in a number of organizations, including the Jones Trust, the Endeavor Foundation, Arvest Bank of Springdale, the Care Foundation, the National Advisory Board for the American Studies Institute at Harding University, the Northwest Arkansas office of the American Heart Association, the dean’s advisory boards for the Sam M. Walton College of Business and College of Agriculture at the University of Arkansas, and the Board of Trustees of College of the Ozarks in Missouri.
“Buddy Wray was a legendary figure at Tyson Foods. From the earliest days of the growth of Tyson Foods, Buddy, along with my dad and Leland Tollett, made the company succeed from the early 1960s through the 1990s,” said Tyson Foods Chairman John Tyson in a statement. “He was instrumental in everything the company did for over 50 years. There is no way to express what Buddy meant to the company and thousands of its team members during that time. He was also a long-time dedicated Springdale community leader who will be missed by many and long remembered.”
“Buddy was one of my mentors and I will miss his leadership, insight and especially his friendship,” said Tyson Foods President and CEO Donnie Smith. “He earned the gratitude and respect of all of us here at Tyson Foods and we will never forget him.”
