Internationally known dairy cattle judge and dairy youth supporter Dr. J.
Lee Majeskie of Centreville died suddenly on Friday, August 22, at the
University of Maryland Hospital. He was the loving and devoted husband of
Judy Alexander Majeskie.
Born February 7, 1941, on a Holstein dairy farm in Waukesha, WI, Lee was
the son of John and Bernice Majeskie.
Dr. Majeskie retired from his position as Professor Emeritus and Extension
Specialist in the Department of Animal & Avian Sciences at the University
of Maryland in 2005. He received his B. S. and M.S. degrees at the
University of Wisconsin and his Ph.D. in Dairy Cattle Breeding and Genetics
at Kansas State University.
In 1970, Dr. Majeskie became the Director of Program Development for the
U.S. Brown Swiss Cattle Association. During his five-year tenure, he
developed the Production and Type Performance Registry program; initiated a
National Brown Swiss Young Sire program; and directed the growth of the
Identity Enrollment program for unregistered Brown Swiss.
In 1975, he accepted a position at the University of Maryland where he
served as an Extension Dairy Specialist, providing educational programs to
youth and adults in the dairy industry. He taught over 1500 students during
his 30 years of University service. He was also the faculty adviser for the
Animal Husbandry Club for a number of years. The club hosts livestock shows
that form the foundation of a college-wide 'county-fair like event' each
April that was called Ag Day, allowing dozens of undergraduates to gain
meaningful large-animal handling experience annually. Ag Day has evolved
into a campus-wide event called Maryland Day, which attracts over 50,000
people to campus each year.
Dr. Majeskie's research program included applied research in dairy cattle
management, using data generated from the Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI)
program. He provided the leadership and development of educational programs
for dairy producers and users of dairy records generated in the DHI
program. He has presented 43 international featured presentations in 21
countries covering the topics of genetic improvement of dairy cattle.
He has conducted judging clinics in six states and served as official judge
of over 125 district, state, regional and national shows in 31 states. Dr.
Majeskie has also had the opportunity to judge national shows and classify
cattle in 14 countries including Brazil, Columbia, Dominican Republic,
Switzerland, France, Guatemala, Honduras, Puerto Rico and Australia.
Dr. Majeskie might be most known as the coach of the highly successful
Maryland 4-H dairy cattle judging program. Thousands of youth benefited
from his 25 years of leadership. During that time, his state teams placed
in the top three nationally 18 times and won the national contest five
times.
Living in a small state with increasing urbanization, Dr. Majeskie is also
known for initiating a dairy leasing program that allowed non-farm 4-H
youth to lease a dairy animal and participate in dairy projects, including
showing. This leasing
program celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2008.
Dr. Majeskie recently received two prestigious awards. He was presented the
American Dairy Science Association's Award of Honor at their annual meeting
this summer, and he was inducted to the Maryland Dairy Shrine this spring.
He
has also received numerous honors and awards over the years from 4-H and
various dairy cattle organizations.
Upon his retirement, two scholarships were established in his honor - one
in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources for students in Animal
Sciences with a focus on dairy; and one in the Maryland 4-H Foundation in
support of youth with 4-H dairy project background. This was the first time
in the history of the College and Foundation that scholarships were
established in honor of a faculty member within the College and Maryland 4-
H Foundation.
Dr. Majeskie was a member of the National Dairy Shrine Board of Directors,
DHI-Provo, Dairy Shrine Scholarship Selection Committee, Maryland Holstein
Association and Scholarship Committee, Wills Show Committee, Maryland Brown
Swiss Association Board of Directors, National Brown Swiss Board of
Directors, Maryland Dairy Shrine, Maryland Pure Bred Dairy Cattle
Association, Coordinating Committee for the National 4-H Dairy Cattle
Judging Contest, American Dairy Science Association, and was a frequent
contributor to Hoard's Dairyman.
He was also a member of the Symphony Village Community Association, an
enthusiastic Terrapin Club member, Maryland 4-H Dairy Bowl contest
official, Maryland Dairy Princess Committee member and assisted in
organizing and planning the Maryland Dairy Weekend. He was also an active
member of Asbury United Methodist Church in Millington.
Surviving in addition to his wife, are son, Matthew Majeskie of Madison,
WI; stepson Troy Alexander and his wife, Nicole, and granddaughter,
Cassidy, all of Millington; and sister and brother-in-law Joyce and Randy
Martinson of Elkhorn, WI.
The family will receive friends from 2 to 4 p.m. and from 6 to 8 p.m. on
Thursday, August 28, at the Fellows, Helfenbein & Newnam Funeral Home, 408
South Liberty Street, Centreville. The funeral will be held at 11 a.m.
Friday, August 29, at the Centreville United Methodist Church on MD 213 in
Centreville. Internment will be in the Crumpton Cemetery and a reception
will be held at the Millington Fire Hall.
Pall bearers are Jack King, Frank Walbert, Gene Iager, Charlie Iager, Mike
Iager, Tim Summers, Gene Long and Randy Martinson. Honorary pall bearers
are Monty Montgomery and George Majeskie.
Memorial donations may be made to: Maryland 4-H Foundation, memo to Lee
Majeskie Scholarship and mailed to Maryland 4-H Center, 8020 Greenmead
Drive, College Park, MD 20742; or to the UMCP Foundation, memo to Lee
Majeskie Scholarship and mailed to the University of Maryland, College of
Agriculture and Natural Resources, 1221 Symons Hall, College Park, MD
20742, Attention: Brian Magness.
The Maryland Brown Swiss Association has sustained a great blow in the loss of Mr. Reese William Warner Jr. Bill was the husband of Cynthia Long Warner and together they bred great cows and served as the heart of this organization. Bill died suddenly at home on Saturday, December 29, 2007, following a gathering with many Brown Swiss Association members along with other dairy enthusiasts and family members. Words cannot express the depth of our sympathy to Cindy, Peg, Cap and the rest of the Long and Warner families. Bill was held in high regard not just for his business sense and many accomplishments, but mostly because he was a genuinely nice person and made others around him feel welcome at any event. He supported and was involved in Cindy's passion for the Brown Swiss breed and was seen assisting her at all the activities. They worked to build the Mid-Atlantic Brown Swiss Calf Sale and make it the premier sale it is today. Out of state breeders and sales staff were graciously entertained many times over the years by the Warners and developed deep friendships making Bill's loss felt in many areas of the country. Bill's funeral will take place on Thursday, January 3 at St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church. Other arrangements and directions may be obtained by contacting bobalou3820@aol.com or jthompson@frederickmd.com or by calling (301) 845-8139. Expressions of sympathy may be sent to Cindy by contacting the above for her address.
