Anne Burnett Tandy

http://www.cowgirl.net/HallofFameHonorees/Tandy,Anne.html

Anne grew up in Fort Worth and spent time on her father’s Triangle Ranch mastering the qualities of a top hand through her friendships with the cowboys. Heir to the Four Sixes and Triangle ranches, she was a noted quarter horse breeder and helped organize the American Quarter Horse Association. Married to Tandy Corporation founder Charles Tandy, Anne served in leadership roles in professional and civic organizations and was known as a rancher, art collector, and visionary philanthropist.

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Anne Valliant Burnett Tandy

“Miss Anne” was the only daughter of Tom Burnett and Olive Lake. Born on October 15, 1900, in Fort Worth, she was named for her father Tom's little sister, Anne Valliant Burnett, who died young. Miss Anne was known for her knowledge of cattle, horses and fine art. She established the $200 million Burnett foundation in 1978 to support projects ranging from horse ranching to museums.

Although she was schooled in the East and raised in a society atmosphere, Miss Anne valued the ranch as part of her heritage. She divided much of her time between her home near the Shady Oaks Country Club in Fort Worth and the Triangle Ranch that her father established near Iowa Park, Texas.

Like her father, Miss Anne was a keen judge of both horses and cattle. Along with her second husband, James Goodwin Hall, she assisted in the formation of the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA). She was a founder of the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame and was the first woman to be named an honorary vice president of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association(TSCRA) and AQHA.

Miss Anne had only one child - also named Anne but often called “Little Anne” - from her marriage to James Goodwin Hall. In 1969, Miss Anne married Charles Tandy, founder of the Tandy Corporation. Known as a strong-willed woman, Miss Anne was called gregarious by many who knew her, and friends say she did not pamper her daughter, “Little Anne.”

Miss Anne was particularly interested in the Quarter Horse breeding operation at the ranch and was noted for her champions, Grey Badger II and Hollywood Gold, from which many top racing and cutting horses are descended. She was inducted posthumously into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame.

Prior to his death in 1922, Miss Anne's grandfather, Captain Samuel “Burk” Burnett, willed the bulk of his estate to Miss Anne in a trusteeship for her yet unborn child. At the time of Miss Anne’s death on Jan. 1, 1980, her daughter Little Anne - Anne W. Marion - inherited her great-grandfather Captain Burnett's ranch holdings through directives stated in his will. She then sold the Triangle Ranch her grandfather Tom Burnett had developed and donated the Burnett home in Iowa Park to the city for use as a library.

Anne Valliant Burnett Tandy, rancher, art collector, and philanthropist, the daughter and only child of Olive (Lake) and Thomas Lloyd Burnett, was born on October 15, 1900, in Fort Worth, Texas. In 1906 the Burnetts moved to the family ranch house near Iowa Park. Anne grew up a friend to local Comanches and the Triangle Ranch cowboys; from them she mastered the qualities of a top hand. She also spent several years in the East where she went to school. In 1918 her parents divorced. She then lived for a time with her mother and grandparents in Fort Worth. Prior to his death in 1922 her grandfather, Samuel Burk Burnett, willed the bulk of his estate to Anne in a trusteeship for her yet unborn daughter. After his widow, Mary Couts Burnett, successfully contested and broke the will, recovering $3 million in the process, Anne and her father developed an agreeable working relationship in the operation of his Triangle properties, which was organized as the Tom L. Burnett Cattle Company. As owner of the Four Sixes Ranch in King County, Miss Anne, as she was known among friends and employees alike, actively engaged in breeding quarter horses. She was especially noted for her champion horses, Grey Badger II and Hollywood Gold, from which many top racers and cutting horses were descended. Her inheritance of the Triangle operations after her father's death in December 1938 made her one of the wealthiest ranchers in Texas. In 1940 she helped organize the American Quarter Horse Association in Fort Worth. Anne Burnett was married four times. Her first marriage to Guy Waggoner ended in divorce. Her second marriage to James Goodwin Hall produced one daughter. That marriage ended in divorce, and she then married Robert Windfohr, who died in 1964. In 1969 she married Charles David Tandy, founder of the Tandy Corporation in Fort Worth, and was a corecipient with him of the 1975 Golden Deeds Award from the Exchange Club of Fort Worth. As a leader in the burgeoning livestock industry of North and West Texas, Anne Tandy served as a director of the First National Bank and of the Southwestern Exposition and Fat Stock Show (later the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show) in Fort Worth. She was a trustee of the Amon Carter Museum, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. In addition, she was the first woman to become a member of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce and the West Texas Chamber of Commerce. For several years she was on the board of directors of the Ranching Heritage Association in Lubbock. A leading benefactor of the American Quarter Horse Association and the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, she served those organizations as an honorary vice president and in 1978 was a founder of the AQHA Hall of Fame. She also supported a number of other local civic and regional organizations. After her husband's death in 1978 she established the Anne Burnett Tandy and Charles D. Tandy Foundation (see TANDY FOUNDATION). She died at her home in Fort Worth on January 1, 1980, and was interred at Greenwood Memorial Cemetery. Ownership of the Burnett ranches and estate were passed on to her daughter, Anne Windfohr Marion.