WILLCOX Cowboy Hall of Fame inductees

ROBERT SEWELL GOODWIN (114)
1930- 2007
2014 COWBOY HALL OF FAME POSTHUMOUS AWARD

Sewell Goodwin was a lifelong rancher. He graduated from Nogales High School and immediately began working for the local ranchers as a hired hand. Opportunity knocked for Sewell when he was still in his twenties, when the Sunnyside Ranch on the South side of the Huachuca Mountains was for sale. A family loan and a handshake deal transformed Sewell from a hired hand to a rancher.

The business of ranching suited Sewell, as over the years, he continued to buy, build-up and sell ranches all across Southeastern Arizona and into New Mexico. He owned the Parker Canyon Ranch, the Deer Creek Ranch in the Galiuro Mountains (Northwest of Willcox), the 7 Cross A on Eagle Creek, the 6K6 near the Coronado Trail and the Three X’s on the Blue River. When it was time for Sewell’s children to attend school he moved them to the Hook Open A Ranch just North of Willcox.

In 1974, Sewell married Lois Davis. Sewell had four children: Robert, Marshall, Glenn, and Helen. Lois had two: Deslie and Brian. In 1985, Sewell and Lois bought the L Bar H ranch in Glenwood, New Mexico, which was considered his “retirement” ranch, as if a man like Sewell could ever retire.

Sewell was a well-known lion hunter. He loved his hounds and how they worked. He loved the challenge a lion hunt provided. Every hunt was different to him and every run had a different twist. He like the camaraderie of hunting with others, but he also liked going solo. He was willing to mentor younger hunters so they would continue the traditions of houndsmen and their dogs. Sewell created a museum at the ranch that helps to preserve the history and stories of the old time lion hunters.

Sewell was a longtime member of the National Cattle Growers Association, both the Arizona and New Mexico Cattle Growers and served as president of the Greenlee County Cattle Growers. Sewell passed away on April 6, 2007, at the ranch.