Buddy Wray, Former Tyson Foods President, Dies at 78

Retired Tyson Foods Inc. president Donald “Buddy” Wray, a legendary figure with the Springdale-based company, died Monday morning. He was 78.

Wray was president of the Springdale-based company from 1991 until he retired in 2000, and he served on its board of directors from 1994 to 2003.

In 2008, he returned to Tyson to take on the role of executive vice president-special assistant to the president and chief executive officer.

“From the earliest days of the growth of Tyson Foods, Buddy, along with my dad and Leland Tollett made the company succeed, from the early 1960s through the 1990s,” Tyson Foods chairman John Tyson said in a company-issued statement. “He was instrumental in everything the company did for over 50 years. There is no way to express what Buddy meant to the company and thousands of its team members during that time. 

“He was also a longtime dedicated Springdale community leader who will be missed by many and long remembered.”

Wray, who is credited for designing the first Tyson Foods oval logo in the 1960s, joined the company as a field service representative working with growers in 1961, and held a variety of posts with the company over the years. He soon worked his way up to plant manager, leading the Rogers plant and the Springdale plant at different times.

During the 1970s-80s, he had significant influence on acquisition growth and also the company’s product development, sales and marketing — culminating in his promotion to chief operating officer.

“Buddy was one of my mentors and I will miss his leadership, insight and especially his friendship,” Tyson Foods president and CEO Donnie Smith said. “He earned the gratitude and respect of all of us here at Tyson Foods and we will never forget him.”

Wray was inducted into the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame in 2015.