Harley Portwood

William “Harley” Portwood III

Harley Portwood, 77 of Round Timber, passed away on December 16, 2024, in Seymour, Texas. 

Harley was born on June 4, 1947, in Wichita Falls, Texas, to the late Bill Sunday Portwood Sr. and Jo Ann (Galloway) Portwood Buckalew. He grew up in Round Timber and attended elementary and junior high school in Seymour. Harley graduated high school with top honors from Kemper Military Academy in Boonville, Missouri, in 1965, where he served as class president and was quarterback for the 1964 football team that went 10-0. Upon graduation from Kemper, Harley attended Texas Tech University before returning to Round Timber to begin his career as a farmer. 

Harley married Charlotte “Babe” Palmer on June 21, 1975, in Olney, Texas. She preceded him in death on February 4, 2016. Together, Harley and Babe, were self-employed in the farming and ranching business in four different counties: Archer, Baylor, Young, and Throckmorton. Harley was awarded the Baylor County Farmer/Conservationist of the Year in 2006. Harley and Babe also operated Bull Creek Land & Cattle Corporation, a livestock and grain hauling company. 

Harley loved farming his and Babe’s land and proudly did so in John Deere tractors. He also had a signature style he sported most all year long: red holey Carhartt t-shirts and 5” shorts. He was a trendsetter and didn’t even know it! When he wasn’t in the field you could find him driving his favorite maroon Peterbilt truck pulling a bull wagon all over the country. He was proud of his trucks and trailers and made sure they sparkled; he always had some of the fanciest rigs on the road. Babe dreaded getting the Bull Creek credit card statement each month.

Harley’s favorite pastimes on the ranch were fishing in the Brazos River or hunting deer or dove. He loved to get away too and spend time with his family and friends on vacations. Snow skiing in Colorado in the winter and scuba diving in Mexico in the summer were both traditions for many years. Harley was always up for a good time, if it was too wet to plow. 

Harley and Babe loved watching their girls grow up and taking them to ride in junior rodeos or participate in basketball camps and sports. Babe kept the girls in line with spankings, but Harley never had to discipline them with his hand or belt. He could just use his deep, Hank Hill voice, and they stood at attention.

Harley was known as Pa-Paw to his grandkids and oh how proud he was of all four of them. He loved watching Kade and Layton play tennis and hauled them around to lessons for many years. So many, that if you talked to him about the sport you would think he was a Wimbledon champion himself. Pa-Paw checked in regularly with the four also: He would call Kade to see what he was learning in medical school and ask how soon could he start practicing on him, Layton to visit about hunting and guns, Oliver to get the kickoff time and channel for the Dallas Cowboys and his thoughts on the team, and he always looked forward to the next round of drawings and cards that Charli would bring him for his art wall.

Harley was a lot like an M&M, he had a hard shell, but was soft on the inside. His list of friends is pages long, as is the list of dogs he has rescued in the past several years. He particularly liked dachshunds and a few humane societies in the area knew his fondness for them and had his number on speed dial. His girls threatened to cut his phone line a few times! Harley’s rescue dogs were his purpose for life in his later years after Babe passed away. He and his latest adoptee would ride around each afternoon and listen to SiriusXM’s 50s Gold and then switch over to Fox News when Sean Hannity came on. If a friend or family member wanted to ride-along, they could wrestle the dog for the passenger seat or immediately admit defeat and sit in the backseat. The dog always rode shotgun.

“Harley Barley” was one-of-a-kind. He had a bit of an ornery streak and could be sharp with his words, but that was just part of his charm. In the last few months of his illness, people would tell him they were so sorry about what he was going through. His comment was always, “It’s okay, I’ve had a really good time getting to this point.” He did that indeed!

Harley is survived by daughters, Sunday McAdams and husband Clint, and Sommer Portwood all of Seymour and Skye Urbanczyk and husband Steven of Munday; grandchildren, Kade and Layton McAdams, and Charli and Oliver Urbanczyk; one sister, Linda Rounsaville and husband Jim of Springcreek; two brother-in-laws, Scott Palmer and wife Gayle of Olney, Mike Palmer and wife Lori of Megargel, numerous nieces and nephews, and his current rescue dog Hank.

Harley was preceded in death by Babe, his wife of 40 years, his parents, Bill Portwood Sr. and Jo Ann Galloway Portwood Buckalew, a brother, Bill Sunday Portwood Jr., a sister, Jerry Ann Portwood Taylor, step-father, Don Buckalew, step-sister, Donna Harrison, and best buddy, John Jim Hrncirik.

A private graveside service will be held at the Round Timber Cemetery under the direction of Archer Funeral Home, Seymour, Texas. The family welcomes anyone that has a good “Harley Story” to share it with family and friends at the Rusty Spur in Seymour any time between 12-2 p.m. on December 20, 2024. 

In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorials be made to the Round Timber Cemetery Association (1502 FM 1286, Seymour, Texas 76380), the Megargel Cemetery Association (PO Box 62, Megargel, Texas 76370), The Humane Society of Young County, or a charity of your choice.