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Frank Yturria

From EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki

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Frank Yturria
File:Frank Yturria.png
Yturria circa 1990
Chairman of the Inter-American Foundation
In office
June 26, 1990 – January 24, 2005
PresidentGeorge H.W. Bush
Bill Clinton
George W. Bush
Personal details
BornJune 29, 1923
Austin, Texas, U.S.
DiedNovember 26, 2018(2018-11-26) (aged 95)
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Mary Elizabeth Altman
Children2
EducationTexas A&M University (BS)
University of the Philippines (MA)
AwardsKnight of Malta
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch
RankCaptain
Battles/warsWorld War II
Korean War

Francisco Daniel "Frank" Yturria (June 29, 1923 – November 26, 2018) was an American politician, businessman, rancher, and conservationist who served as the chair of the Inter-American Foundation during three U.S. presidencies.

Early life and family

Yturria was born on June 29, 1923, in Austin, Texas, the first of three children of Fausto Yturria Sr. and Marion Alexander.[1] He was raised in the Los Ebanos neighborhood of Brownsville. Yturria attended Central Grammar School and Brownsville High School. During this period, he also worked as a vaquero. As a teenager, Yturria performed in a three-month traveling Wild West show throughout Texas, with other performers including Gene Autry and Roy Rogers.[2][3][4] 1947, he was married to Mary Elizabeth Altman. They had two daughters.[5]

Yturria attended Texas A&M University, where he earned a degree in veterinary medicine. In 1947, he was appointed as Texas A&M's Cadet Captain of Cavalry and earned a pilot's license. Yturria and his family owned and operated a 80,000 acre cattle ranch in Texas.[6][7] His family also owned mineral interest in 156,300 acres of ranch lands in five south Texas counties.[8] In the 1990s, his family was ranked as the 58th largest landowners in the United States by Worth magazine.[8]

Career

Military

Yturra served in the United States Army during World War II, serving from 1942 until 1944. He later served in the United States Air Force during the Korean War. He attained the rank of Captain with the U.S. 13th Air Force at Clark Air Base.

Public service

Yturria was active in politics beginning in the 1950s, when he worked for the presidential campaign of Dwight D. Eisenhower.[3] He also founded the Republican Party of Cameron County in 1952.[2]

In 1953, he was appointed by Eisenhower as the Collector of Customs for District 23, becoming the lead U.S. Customs official overseeing the Brownsville, Texas customs district.[8] In the role, he oversaw several ports of entry along the Texas-Mexico border.[3] Later, he was reassigned to serve as a U.S. Customs official in the Philippines for two years.[2]

While in the Philippines, Yturria and his wife became close friends with President Ferdinand Marcos and First Lady Imelda Marcos.[5] After returning to the United States, Yturria founded the National Bank of Commerce in 1965 and the Texas Bank and Trust in 1978.[3] In December 1982, President Ronald Reagan appointed Yturria to serve as an alternate representative to the South Pacific Commission.[1]

In 1990, Yturria was appointed by President George H.W. Bush as the chairman of the Inter-American Foundation.[3][9] He was reappointed to the post by President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush.[10][11] Yturria also was appointed by Governor Rick Perry to serve on the Texas Historical Commission from 2001 to 2007.[8][12]

Conservation efforts

Yturria was involved in various conservation and preservation efforts, including leading the restoration of the Cameron County Courthouse, and successfully lobbying for the restoration of the Bahia Grande into its native estuarine habitat.[2] Yturria and his wife also advocated for the preservation of the Palo Alto Battlefield, and helped restore the Aplomado falcon to South Texas in partnership with The Peregrine Fund and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.[13] Yturria set aside 10,000 acres of his ranch into a wildlife habitat to protect the highly endangered Texas ocelot,[3] which today is found on the Yturria Ranch and the Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge.[8]

Yturria and his wife also served as co-founders of the Brownsville Museum.[5][3]

For his conservation efforts, he was awarded the Governor's Award for Historic Preservation in 2010 and the International Award for Excellence in Conservation by the Botanical Research Institute of Texas in 2017.[5][14]

Works

  • The Patriarch, 2006
  • Colonel Manual Maria Yturria, 1999

Death and legacy

Yturria died in 2018 at the age of 95.[5]

Legacy

In 1992, the Brownsville Independent School District named a new elementary school as The Frank and Mary Yturria Elementary School.[15][16][3]

Yturria is the namesake of the Frank Yturria Fund for Ocelot Conservation at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute.[5]

KVEO-TV referred to Yturria as "the greatest conservationist of his generation in south Texas."[13]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Appointments, December 23, 1982 | Ronald Reagan". www.reaganlibrary.gov. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Michaud, Stephen G. (2018). The amazing life of a South Texas cowboy. ISBN 9781626344679. Search this book on
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 "Leaving a legacy". RGVision Magazine. 2017-07-05. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  4. ↑ "Frank Yturria joins the Gene Autry Rodeo". MyRGV.com. 2018-01-21. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 "Frank Daniel Yturria Obituary November 26, 2018". Darling Mouser. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  6. ↑ "Our Story". H. Yturria Ranch Mercantile. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  7. ↑ Clayton, Lawrence (1997). Historic Ranches of Texas. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-71189-1. Search this book on
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Pensa, Shannon. "LibGuides: Special Collections & Archives: Yturria Family". utrgv.libguides.com. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  9. ↑ Grassroots Development: Journal of the Inter-American Foundation. Inter-American Foundation. 1991. Search this book on
  10. ↑ "Frank Yturria dies at 95". Port Isabel-South Padre Press. 2018-12-01. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  11. ↑ "Digest of Other White House Announcements | The American Presidency Project". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  12. ↑ Rhodes, Andy (2019). "Bicultural Borderland" (PDF). Texas Historical Commission. p. 7.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Moore, Richard (May 17, 2018). "Frank Yturria". KVEO-TV.
  14. ↑ "Frank Yturria". Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association. 2019-02-01. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  15. ↑ "Yturria Elementary School". yturria.bisd.us. Retrieved 2026-05-31.
  16. ↑ "About Us". Welcome Yturria Rangers. Retrieved 2026-05-31.


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