ASHTON — The owner of Hobbs Livestock Sales Pavilion in Ashton, 50 kilometres west of Ottawa, died at home last month. Keith Hobbs was 77.

He had fought cancer for 15 years but during the third round with the disease he succumbed to cardiac arrest.

A dairy farmer and long-time cattleman, he began operating the sale pavilion at Easter in 1981. At that sale 200 or more people showed up to buy commercial cattle and machinery and he never looked back. This year the sale attracted more than a 1,000 people.

"It’s like old-home week," says his son and partner, Henry. Another son, Rick, was also a partner. In 2000, the family sold the dairy quota after Henry was laid up. Hobbs was true grit, bred in his bone. With his sons, he expanded the beef and increased the size of the pavilion two to three times. Today, the farm has 400 to 500 beef animals, mostly Angus.

"He just worked, worked, worked," said Henry. "He was an old diehard," who learned to survive through the hard times in the beef industry.

The pavilion is still in expansion mode with the walls already up for a retail store to sell beef from the family beef operation.

He distinguished himself in the agricultural community. He was a director of the Ottawa Valley Seed and Machinery Show for 29 years, and was president in 1989 and 1990. He also served as trustee on the Goulbourne school board.

In 1987, he won the Ontario Hereford Mark of excellence Award and was named Breeder of the Year by the Angus Association for 2004. Upon receiving the award in 2005, he joked in an interview with Farmers Forum, saying, "You can’t get rid of this old lad."