He was a shrewd businessman in poultry, but Jack Ray England was also an Arkansas-bred man with a homegrown vernacular. The combination was no better evidenced than when England, of Rison, negotiated the sale of 40 million fertilized chicken eggs as a government subsidy to Iraq in 1988.
While coordinating the shipment of the eggs on a 747 aircraft from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York to Iraq, England worked with a translator to ensure the transaction was successful.
England's daughter, Pam Martin of Rison, said that at one point during the tense transaction, England resorted to his Southern slang.
"He said, 'This will work. We'll get all our ducks in a row,'" Martin said.
"The translator looked at Daddy and said, 'We ordered chickens, not ducks.'"
England, a pioneer in the state's poultry industry, died of leukemia Sunday at his Rison home. He was 93.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 67 years, Betty England, in April 2013. He is survived by his daughters, Martin and Terri Lindquester of Memphis; and a son, Jack Ray "Jay" England of Rison.
England was born in Cleveland County on Sept. 28, 1921; played quarterback for the Rison Wildcat high school football team; and attended Arkansas A&M College -- now the University of Arkansas at Monticello -- where he joined the National Guard.
He was a World War II veteran and served in the Aleutian Islands with the 206th Coast Artillery, Battery B. Later, he became a pilot and flight officer and served in the 312th Bombardment Group, 389th Squadron, 5th Air Force, in the Pacific.
When he returned home to Rison, he farmed tomatoes and cotton, raised cattle and hogs, and began a hauling service. In 1955, he ventured into poultry with four chicken houses and a flock of turkeys and sold broilers in Cleveland County and neighboring areas.
When his poultry business began struggling in the 1960s, England created a model to sell fertilized broiler chicken eggs and began exporting them to Canada, Mexico, South America, South Africa and the Middle East.
"His model became the way how we handle hatching eggs," said Marvin Childers, the president of the Poultry Federation in Little Rock. "There's no doubt about it. He was a true pioneer. He devised a model that's being used today."
England dealt with stress while selling his eggs worldwide, but he maintained a happy composure.
"He was a hard sell," his son said. "But he always kept his word. He'd say you have to keep your word, 'even if it takes your hide.' He was a risk taker, but he called himself the 'Eternal Optimist.'
"He'd say, "I make a lot of bad decisions," Jay England said of his father. "But he'd also say, 'But I recover well.'"
England established England Feed and Equipment Co., Diamond Lakes Poultry, Inc., England Packing Co. and England Farms.
He sold his operation in 2013 to Jamaica Broilers Group of Companies.
In January 2013, he was inducted into the American Poultry Hall of Fame. He's also a member of the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame, and in 1989, he was awarded the President's "E"Award by President George H.W. Bush and the U.S. Commerce Department for his exportation of hatching eggs.
"Whatever I am today, I'm who I am because of him," Jay England said. "He taught us to be reasonable. Sometimes, things he'd do may have ended up as a holy mess, but within a few days, he'd fix it."
Even as England's health failed, he would maintain that optimism. When family members asked how he was doing in the last days of his life, he'd smile and say, "doing wonderful," Jay England said.
England set goals, family members said, and as his health began failing he set shorter goals.
"Last year, he wanted to make it to Christmas," Martin said. "He did. Then, he wanted to make it to his 93rd birthday on Sept. 28. That was his last goal, and he made that, too."
State Desk on 11/04/2014