Family: Wife, Elaine; daughter, Emily; and sons, Elson and Tristan
Hometown: Lebanon, Mo.
In Town: Having grown up in Lebanon and coming from a long line of salesmen, John David Roper followed in the family business and became a saleman as well. His father, Jim Don Roper, and his grandfather, Herbert Scott, were both well-known shoe salesmen in decades past, operating Scott Shoes in downtown Lebanon, Mo.
Today, John is the general manager of Lindsay Ford in Lebanon and has been for the past six years.
“I don’t sell many cars anymore,” he admitted. “I’m over the service department, the finance and the car sales, but I still see my old customers, now and then. They are, of course, the best part of this job, getting to visit with the people and dealing with the public. I like the fact that it is something new and different every day.”
In the Country: John and his wife, Elaine have 75 head of Angus cattle on a total of 250 acres, owned and rented, outside of Lebanon in Laclede County. In the past six months, he has begun converting the majority of his cattle from a commercial herd to registered Angus.
“That’s part of my future retirement plan,” he added with a grin. “We just completed building a house on our property and we’re getting ready to start raising and selling bulls as well.”
John is a member of the American Angus Association and said that there is certainly much more record keeping with the registered herd.
“Still, it’s worth it,” he said.
John David credits Elaine for their place in the cattle business.
“When I lived in Columbia, Mo., several years ago, I had a few cows with my brother, but my wife grew up on a farm and I certainly couldn’t do any of this without her. Her dad, Marvin Cochran, is a great help as he still farms down by Competition, Mo., where she grew up. Together, he and I probably put up between 600 to 800 bales of hay each year. Nobody who knew me growing up can believe I have cows now because it certainly wasn’t part of my childhood,” he concluded with a laugh. “But it’s great and I really enjoy it. Our sons are a real help on the farm and I can see Tristan, especially, staying with it through the next generation, following in his grandfather’s footsteps.”
