Mar 02, 2017
Dr. Joseph A. Musick, Jr., aged 80 of Monticello, Arkansas, passed away on Monday, February 27, 2017. In 1985 he was named director of the Louisiana State University (LSU) Ag Center Rice Research Station and retired in 2003 as Professor and Resident Coordinator Emeritus.
Dr. Steve Linscombe, current director of the Rice Research Station, said of Dr. Musick: “He always was very supportive of the faculty and staff at the station, and was responsible for a number of major improvements here that will assure the success of the facility well into the future. Dr. Musick was truly dedicated to the rice farmers of Louisiana and will certainly be missed by the entire U.S. rice industry.”
Dr. Musick grew up on a farm in Mississippi County, Arkansas, and when he graduated from Shawnee High School held the highest Future Farmers of America (FFA) honor in the state. He earned a degree at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, his Masters at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, and completed his PhD at the University of Missouri.
Dr. Musick was a recipient of the 2004 Horizon Ag, Rice Farming Magazine, and USA Rice Lifetime Achievement award.
Visitation will be this evening from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Stephenson-Dearman Funeral Home in Monticello. The funeral service will be 10:00 a.m., Friday, March 3, at the First United Methodist Church in Monticello, with burial to follow in Oakland Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the First United Methodist Church, 317 South Main, Monticello, AR 71655.