SG_USA_October_2022

Remembering Helen Kleberg Groves

1927-2022

Story and photos by Kent B. Ward, KB Consulting

H elen (Helenita) Kleberg Groves was the last of her kind. She passed away peacefully at her home in San Antonio, Texas, on May 6, 2022, at the age of 94. Born in the same city, she was the only child of Robert (Bob)

Justus Kleberg, Jr., and Helen Camp bell Kleberg. She was described as a hard-riding, tough-as-cactus cowgirl who grew up working right alongside the hands at the vast expanse of King Ranch in south Texas. Founded in 1853, the cattle

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empire was once the largest opera tions of its kind in the United States. Helenita craved and had a history with horses and cattle as vast as the mighty ranch where she spent her youth riding the range. However, she never limited herself to a single type or breed. Raised on the King Ranch, Helenita graduated from Foxcroft School in Middleburg, Va., and attended Vassar College. From there she began her long, fascinating and varied life. With many passions in her life, ranching, fine horses and her family were to remain her central focus. Her abiding love of King Ranch, its land, its Santa Gertrudis cattle and the people who worked there, formed the foundation for all she did. Helenita was a crack shot. With her Colt pistol she often outshone the men and continued her keen love of dove and quail hunting into her nineties. Helenita was involved in ranching all her life. She oversaw King Ranch’s Buck and Doe Run Valley Farms in Chester County, Pa., her own Silver brook Farms in Staunton, Va., and Silverbrook Ranches in Texas, and she focused on raising the best Santa Gertrudis and Quarter Horses in the country.

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