Harmon "Hymie" Schepps passed away Aug. 24 in Dallas at the age of 93. He started the Houston-based dairy company named for him, Schepps Dairy, which has since been renamed to Oak Farms.


By International Dairy Foods Association

Harmon "Hymie" Schepps passed away Aug. 24 in Dallas at the age of 93. He started the Houston-based dairy company named for him, Schepps Dairy, in 1942, which he later sold to Foremost Farms USA, Baraboo, Wis., in 1985. After the Knudsen Foods-Foremost bankruptcy a few years later, Schepps Dairy emerged with two other plants to form the foundation for Southern Foods Group under the primary ownership of Schepps' business partner, Pete Schenkel. Southern Foods grew into a large regional dairy company that was purchased in 2000 by Suiza Foods Co., which then merged with Dallas-based Dean Foods the following year.

Today, Schepps has been renamed to Oak Farms, but still produces a wide range of dairy products, including fresh milk and cream, cottage cheese, sour cream, juice and more.

Source: International Dairy Foods Association, Washington, D.C.