Former state Rep. William “Bill” Holcomb Webster died peacefully on Jan. 10, age 90, with his family at his side.

Services for Webster will be on Jan. 21 at 2 p.m. at the Greeley First Congregation Church, 2101 16th St.

Webster was born Oct. 7, 1932 in Rochester, Minnesota but his family moved to Weld County when he was a child. He attended grade school through high school in Greeley. After graduation, Webster briefly attended Colorado State University but left to serve in the Army at Fort Richardson in Alaska.

He went back to CSU but left a second time to pursue his passion in livestock operations, growing his cattle herd from 3,000 to 25,000. Webster eventually finished that degree – a bachelor of science degree in animal science – at the age of 81.

He met the love of his life, Sylvia, at the Greeley Rodeo and while they were both still in high school. She was already familiar with his family; his father, Dr. Bill Webster, operated on her at the age of three after a serious fall.

The couple married on Aug. 9, 1953 and celebrated 66 years together until she died on Jan. 20, 2020. 

Webster founded the Webster Land & Cattle Co. and Webster Feed Lots, Inc., putting Weld County on the map “for his innovative feeding techniques,” the county statement said. According to a 2016 profile in the Greeley Tribune, those innovations included using computer technology in livestock management and the introduction of “flaked corn” for livestock feed. Flaked corn is cooked, which makes it easier for cattle to eat and digest, and that cut waste and improved efficiency by 10 percent on his feedlot, the first commercial feedlot to use this strategy, the Tribune reported.

Webster began his elected service as a county commissioner in 1991, serving for two terms. He was first elected to the Colorado House, representing House District 48, in 1998 and re-elected in 2000. He served on the House agriculture and local government committees. His legislation chiefly focused on agricultural issues, such as a sales and use tax exemption for dairy, tasking the state veterinary commission with preventing livestock disease, and changing the standards for fat content in whipped butter.

Daughter Perry was first elected to represent neighboring House District 49 in 2012. She was elected an at-large Weld County Commissioner in 2020.

Webster’s service to agriculture was recognized by his induction into the FFA Colorado Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2017. At his induction, then-Commissioner of Agriculture Don Brown said “there wasn’t a man who fed a hoof who didn’t know Bill Webster.”

He is survived by their three children: Wade (Ann), Dan (Dawn) and Perry, as well as 10 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested contributions to the Weld County Community Foundation, in care of Allnutt Funeral Service at 6521 W. 20th ST, Greeley, CO.