Jim spent over a decade as merchandising coordinator for New York  Holstein Association, a position where his gift for working with cows and people really emerged. He had a special talent of seeing potential in both bovine and breeder.Having grown up in the New York Holstein industry, I always remember Jim being an important part of it. One of my favorite memories was a day Jim made
an unexpected visit at my parent’s farm, which bordered the New York State Thruway. Apparently a calf had escaped from its hutch and somehow squeezed through the Thruway fence. Jim just happened to be travelling along the Thruway that day, noticed the calf, stopped and got a halter out of his trunk, caught the calf and brought her back to safety. "Just one more service your Association provides," he said to us as he returned the calf home.

Jim was likable. He had a great attitude – always positive. He was never critical.  In fact, he was the eternal optimist, always seeing the best in people and cattle and looking toward the future. One of Jim’s most admirable qualities was his ability to accept change. When the industry was moving toward index and many breeders were complaining and
fighting the system, Jim was learning all he could about it. 

He was one of the first to promote the use of embryo transfer. Jim was a true student of the breed, studying cows, pedigrees, matings and the market. He took notes constantly, "Faint ink is clearer than a good memory," he would say.  Better evaluation of feet and legs traits became a personal crusade for him,  especially when cows began moving onto concrete. He was a main force behind the implementation of the linear trait, rear legs-rear view.

Jim loved to market cattle and he was good at it, even serving as agent for a number of foreign buyers, including Nosawa Company in Japan for many years. Again, he was always studying. It was rare to go to a sale and not find Jim there. He would arrive early, appraise each consignment and mark in his catalog what he thought each would bring. It was a challenge to him to see how close he could get to the actual selling price. It also kept him abreast
of the market and he was one of the most accurate cattle appraisers you could find. He once told me he kept a notebook of the mistakes he made merchandising cattle so that he would never make the same mistake twice.
At sales that Jim had selected for, if a consignment wasn’t bringing what he thought it should, he would never hesitate to step up to the box, take the microphone and promote the consignment. A good "Jim Repard speech" was always worth a few more bids.

As much as Jim loved studying the business, he loved to teach it. He was always willing to share his knowledge and advice, and in every conversation with him there was a lesson.  He took many new breeders under his wing to
help them invest in a good foundation cow or two and offered advice on developing them. He was often  successful "revitalizing" breeders who had become frustrated in the business, finding a bright light in their herd and renewing their optimism.

    We will miss Jim’s involvement in the business, his respected cow knowledge, and teaching. But what will be missed most is the sincere enthusiasm he had for what he did. His excitement for the business, even through all the changes the industry has experienced, was unwavering. And perhaps most important, it was contagious.

In 1955, he began milking and breeding registered Holsteins under the Merry-Air prefix. The herd was dispersed in 1968 and 160 head grossed $80,000.From 1968 to 1971 Repard was in partnership with his  son, Jay, merchandising cattle. Repard served as executive secretary of the New York Holstein Association  (NYHA) from 1971 to 1974. Under his tenure the New York Junior Holstein Association was formed and the New York Holstein  Carousel multi-day event was established in Syracuse, NY. In 1974 a senior calf he owned, C Normac Dairy-Red, was the first Red and White Holstein to win a class at a national show. After leaving NYHA, ,Repard was again buying and selling cattle, serving as an agent and broker for a number of foreign and domestic orders. In 1978 he accepted the newly-created position of Merchandising Coordinator of NYHA, which  he  held until his retirement 12 years later. Repard bred and owned Holsteins throughout his life, owning many in partnership. He was also part-owner in a number of breeder-proved bulls who were leased to AI organizations.     

Repard leaves his wife,  Julia, daughter, Amy Lou  Repard, two brothers and a granddaughter. He was predeceased  by his wife, Mary Repard, in 1981 and son, Jay Repard in 1996.