In Loving Memory
J. David Bamberger at Madrone Lake. Photo by Rusty Yates.
I write with a heavy heart and the sad news of the passing of J. David Bamberger, founder of Bamberger Ranch Preserve and legendary Texas conservationist. He passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on January 17, 2026. He was 97 years old.
J.David lived a long life and he lived it well. His was a life characterized by generosity and the belief that one individual can work hard to make the world a better place. J. David often said that the key to a long life is spending time in the outdoors and making time for a good laugh. True to himself, he was giggling and telling jokes until his last days. We’re forever grateful for his legacy, his strong spirit, and his good humor. And of course, for his dedication to his vision of a landscape protected and restored in a way that provides a shining example for people across the globe.
J. David loved to share the ranch preserve with visitors, especially children. His commitment to welcoming kids from Title 1 schools in underserved communities in San Antonio and Austin did not waiver, and we will carry that impactful commitment forward in our programming. He loved physically working on the land until the last days of his life. At Bamberger Ranch Preserve, we are committed to carrying his legacy of conservation and stewardship forward.
J. David lived a vibrant life full of many accomplishments. He founded Church's Fried Chicken along with Bill Church and was instrumental in protecting Bracken Cave in perpetuity. He helped protect land in West Texas and in Kendall and Comal Counties. These are just highlights of a long and impactful life.
Even after all this, the grand accomplishment of which J. David was most proud was Selah, Bamberger Ranch Preserve. Nestled in beautiful Blanco County, Texas, Selah serves as a beacon of hope for land managers across the nation and beyond. Deeply involved in the management of the preserve and its activities until his last days, his profound influence on conservation in Texas will extend far beyond his long and generous life of almost 100 years.
The photo on the right is my favorite of many that I took of J. David Bamberger. He was 93 years old at the time. I took this photo on a day that we were hiking along the Arboretum Trail, chatting about plans for the ranch preserve and the next group of visitors on their way to learn about stewardship and conservation. At some point on the hike J. David said to me, “If I ever had the chance to live life again, I’d come right back here to Selah.”
Rest in peace, J. David.
April Sansom, Executive Director
Selah, Bamberger Ranch Preserve
The Bamberger Family asks that in lieu of flowers, contributions to honor J. David can be made to his most beloved foundation, Bamberger Ranch Preserve.
Tax-deductible donations can be made here. Thank you.
Photo by Joanna Rees Bamberger
J. David’s Obituary
John David Bamberger, a true force of nature, passed away on January 17, 2026, at the age of 97 in his Johnson City, Texas ranch house. In a state known for legendary characters, J. David (as he was known) stood apart—brimming with optimism, ideas, and boundless goodwill. His infectious energy, kindness, humor, and love of both people and nature drew in individuals of all ages and backgrounds.
He was born June 11, 1928 in Massillon, Ohio to Hester (nee Keggereis) and Titus Anthony Bamberger. He graduated from Navarre (Ohio) High School, and Kent State University, Canton, Ohio.
His humble beginnings, in a house without running water or electricity, grounded him for life. Inspired by his mother, Hester, and a book she gave him (Pleasant Valley, by Louis Bromfield), J. David pursued a dream to restore land, just as Bromfield had done. That dream would ultimately define his legacy.
In 1950, J. David moved his young family to Texas beginning his remarkable American rags-to-riches story, rising from vacuum cleaner salesman to co-founder of Church’s Fried Chicken and a later move into real estate development. He was a problem-solver and very conservative with resources. He didn’t like waste, be it money, time, talent or materials and believed that hard work mattered more than money, often saying, “The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.”
In 1969, he made a bold leap, buying 3,000 acres of, as he was fond of saying, “the worst land in Blanco County”, Texas to pursue his dream of restoring a neglected, misused ranch. Through the years, he bought adjoining ranch lands until Selah Bamberger Ranch totaled 5,500 acres. He also had a hand in establishing Bamberger Nature Park in San Antonio, Guadalupe River State Park, and Bracken Cave Preserve.
A gifted storyteller with a playful sense of humor, J. David loved sharing stories—and even songs he made up—about people, the ranch, and the many lessons he had learned. Thousands visited Selah over the years for landowner workshops, educational programs, research projects, and public tours. His advice to all was, “It doesn’t take a lot of cash to be a good land steward, but it does take hard work and dedication.”
J. David literally “walked the talk.” He cleared cedar, sowed seeds, planted over 400 trees, and laid out trails to showcase the different terrain, geology, and flora of the Texas Hill Country. He joined forces with the World Wildlife Fund to save the Scimitar Horned Oryx from extinction, dedicating 600 acres of Selah to breeding and raising the species. At one time, Selah had the largest herd of Scimitar Horned Oryx in the world.
Always a realist, he knew that his 5,500 acres, and the Texas Hill Country, was threatened by the growth of San Antonio and Austin. In 2002 he made another bold leap and turned the ranch into the non-profit Selah, Bamberger Ranch Preserve, creating an operating foundation to protect the ranch in perpetuity and continue his mission of teaching children and land owners good conservation practices. The award signs from national organizations lining the drive into the ranch are an honor role of recognition for the decades of work by J. David and his small, dedicated ranch staff. But his greatest pride was inspiring others to carry the conservation story forward on private lands across Texas.
J. David Bamberger is survived by his wife, Joanna Rees Bamberger; three children: David and wife, Sandy; Doug; his daughter, Deena Sessums, and husband, Ernie; 6 grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by wives, Donna Beem Bamberger and Margaret Campbell Bamberger; brothers, Louis James Bamberger and Thomas Anthony Bamberger; and grandson, Jarrell Christopher Bamberger.
A celebration of life will be held in lieu of any services or visitations. The celebration of life will be at Selah, Bamberger Ranch Preserve, Saturday, March 14, 2026, starting at 2 p.m. for family, friends, and all those inspired by J. David’s works and deeds.
Until then, his many friends and admirers can enjoy The Texas Country Reporter video of J. David on YouTube that was filmed 15 years ago. Click here for the video.
Memorials can be made at https://www.bambergerranch.org/donate or by clicking here.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 20, 2026
Media Contact:
April Sansom
830-868-2630
Texas Conservation Visionary J. David Bamberger Dies at 97
JOHNSON CITY, Texas — J. David Bamberger, a towering figure in Texas conservation and a pioneering businessman whose unlikely journey led from fried chicken to land restoration, passed away Saturday, Jan. 17, at his beloved Selah Bamberger Ranch near Johnson City. He was 97.
A former chairman of Church’s Fried Chicken, Bamberger was best known in later life for his extraordinary stewardship of the 5,500-acre ranch in Blanco County that he named Selah — a Hebrew word meaning “Pause and Reflect.” What began more than five decades ago as what he described as “the worst piece of real estate in Blanco County” became one of the most celebrated examples of ecological restoration in Texas.
Bamberger purchased the ranch with proceeds from the sale of his Church’s Fried Chicken holdings and spent the next 56 years restoring a parched, exhausted landscape that was largely devoid of water. Through decades of patient experimentation, innovative land management, and a willingness to challenge conventional wisdom, he helped heal the land. Springs returned. Streams flowed again. Lakes appeared. Though often regarded as a maverick, Bamberger ultimately demonstrated that degraded land could be brought back to life through commitment, observation, and humility.
To ensure the long-term protection of the property and its lessons, Bamberger established the nonprofit Selah, Bamberger Ranch Preserve, which today welcomes landowners, conservation professionals, and researchers from across the United States and beyond. Thousands of schoolchildren have also passed through Selah, participating in conservation education programs that introduce young Texans to both the joy and responsibility of caring for the land.
Before his conservation legacy took root, Bamberger built an equally remarkable business career. He began as a Kirby vacuum cleaner salesman before teaming up with Bill Church to grow a San Antonio-based fried chicken operation, Church’s Fried Chicken, into a national brand. Known for innovative and sometimes unconventional business practices, Bamberger helped pioneer new food-preparation technologies, including extended cooking oil life, and broke ground with early partnerships that placed prefabricated chicken stores in Walmart parking lots throughout the South.
Yet it was Selah that ultimately secured Bamberger’s place in the pantheon of Texas conservation leaders. The techniques refined on his ranch — from land rest to watershed restoration — are now widely practiced throughout the Hill Country and beyond, helping reverse decades of overgrazing and erosion. Over the years, Bamberger opened his gates to countless visitors, freely sharing what he learned with scientists, policymakers, and conservationists, including Jane Goodall, former Texas Governor Ann Richards, Perry R. Bass, chairman emeritus of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission, and William Penn Mott, former director of the National Park Service.
Bamberger’s life and work were chronicled widely through books, films, and media reports, including Water from Stone by Jeffrey Greene; Seasons at Selah by Andrew Sansom with photos by Rusty Yates and David K. Langford; My Stories, All True by Pamela LeBlanc; the documentary Selah: Water from Stone by Ben Masters’ Fin & Fur Films; a feature on Texas Country Reporter; and a landmark profile in Texas Monthly. His conservation work was also highlighted in Repairing Mother Nature, published in Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine. Texas Monthly published a tribute to Bamberger on Jan. 18: J. David Bamberger, Church’s Chicken Tycoon Who Made Land Conservation His Mission, Dies at 97
J. David Bamberger is survived by his wife, Joanna; his sons, David K. and his wife, Sandy, and Doug; his daughter, Deena Sessums, and her husband, Ernie; six grandchildren; and twelve great-grandchildren. His legacy—a living landscape shaped by patience, perseverance, and faith in the land’s capacity to heal—will endure for generations to come.
Photo by Rusty Yates