General

JACK A. WEIL, 1901-2008

Jack A. Weil is the great granddaddy of the western shirt. He founded Rockmount Ranch Wear and began manufacturing his timeless classic signature snap-front cowboy shirts in downtown Denver in 1946. At the age of 107 he was believed to be the oldest working CEO in the USA. He went to work and greeted his customers everyday until a week ago.

I took this photo of him when I was in Denver last August. His grandson came to one of my slide shows and invited me to come by the Rockmount Ranch Wear store to meet his famous “papa.” So, of course, I did. “Papa Jack” talked my ear off and I savored every moment.

The unforgettable experience prompted me to then always ask my Denver Friends, when I spoke to them, how he was doing. The response was always the same “fine I guess, I haven’t heard otherwise.”

Then Wednesday when I arrived in Denver one of the first things I did was drive downtown to Rockmount Ranch Wear to check in with, who else, “Papa Jack.” It was late in the afternoon, I was tired and I couldn’t find a darn place to park. So I decided to come back and see him in the morning. A couple of hours later I while having dinner with my Denver friends I asked again, “how’s ‘Papa Jack’?” I got the same answer, “fine, we haven’t heard otherwise.”

When I got back to my room I turned on the local news and the first thing I heard was: Jack A. Weil, legendary founder of Rockmount Ranch Wear died tonight at the age of 107.

So here’s to “Papa” Jack A. Weil and every timeless classic cowboy shirt he ever made! He will always be Americana Royalty of the highest order!