Laurence M. Lasater ’63

Laurie, a fourth-generation rancher and an international force in the cattle-breeding industry, died July 2, 2025. Annette, his wife of 60 years and his business partner, died just 11 days before him. They lived in San Angelo, Texas.

A native of San Antonio, Texas, Laurie grew up in eastern Colorado, attended Fountain Valley School near Colorado Springs, and came to Princeton from Lawrenceville School.

He majored in the Special Program in Latin American Civilization, played 150-pound football, and took his meals at Tiger Inn. He was a Chapel deacon and served on the executive committee of the Campus Fund Drive.

Laurie married Annette Nixon in 1964. They moved to Coahuila, Mexico, where they introduced the Beefmaster breed of cattle that his parents founded. Both of their children, Laurence M. “Lorenzo” Jr., and Annette Isabel were born in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico.

In 1972, the family moved to San Angelo, where Laurie founded and was chairman of Isa Cattle Co., which markets Beefmaster genetics worldwide. He described the business for our 50th-reunion yearbook: “We have a 'one-of-a-kind' ranching business emphasizing genetics and marketing. The most interesting part is our international business. … Lorenzo and I have traveled to Panama, Brazil, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Thailand, as well as continued business in Mexico. We have developed markets for L Bar Beefmaster genetics in each of these countries. It has been a pleasure for our whole family.”

Laurie wrote four books. The Lasater Philosophy of Cattle Raising, published in 1972, is now in its 17th printing and translated into Spanish and Russian.

Annette and Laurie are survived by their son Lorenzo and his wife, Leslie; their daughter Isabel and her husband, J.C. Hernandez; and five grandchildren.