Patrick Gottsch Obituary

Gottsch, Patrick

June 3, 1953 - May 18, 2024

Patrick Gottsch, age 70, "a visionary," who dedicated his life to promoting and growing the rural and western way of life, died on Saturday, May 18, 2024, in the Fort Worth Stockyards.

Patrick Gene Gottsch was born on June 3, 1953, to Bernard "Pat" and Gloria (Borowiak) Gottsch in Omaha. He grew up on the family farm in Elkhorn, NE, proud oldest brother to three sisters, Terri, Tammy, and Toni, and youngest brother, Mickey. The siblings formed a tight unit, working together on the farm, playing with their Saint Bernards, and carrying on their father's more mischievous tendencies. When Patrick wasn't helping his dad feed cattle or running the John Deere 620 during harvest, he worked at his grandparents' bowling alley setting pins. He was a great athlete, playing basketball, football, and baseball for Elkhorn High School. Even his competitors, Ray Burgess and Mike Trader, remained lifelong friends.

Patrick attended Sam Houston State University on a baseball scholarship, where he allegedly hit a home run at his first at-bat. While home from college, Patrick broke his hand teaching Mickey to drive a snowmobile when his brother crashed it into an apple tree. He didn't return to Sam Houston State and began farming with his dad. After suffering three of the most devastating drought years in Nebraska history, his dad told him there was "no future in farming" and urged him to get a job in town. In 1977, Patrick moved to Chicago, IL, to work as a commodity broker on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. His hard work and competitive spirit earned him a seat on the trading floor. A country boy at heart, Patrick didn't want to live in downtown Chicago and returned to Omaha in 1979. Bad luck struck again when the commodity market experienced a catastrophic fall during the Grain Embargo in 1980. Like countless others, Patrick lost his savings and went broke.

In 1983, Patrick married Shirley, and moved to an old farmhouse next to his grandmother, Alice, on her homestead. Their first daughter, Raquel, was born on December 13, 1984. As Patrick drove home from the hospital, he saw a man assembling a C-band satellite dish on Dodge Street. Interested in buying a home dish himself, he pulled over to chat. The man asked if Patrick had any tools, and Patrick ended up helping him install it. It took them six hours. But the moment HBO came on, Patrick was hooked. Ultimately, the man offered Patrick a job installing satellite dishes. Patrick soon started his own company, E.T. Installations, and eventually introduced more than 2,000 satellites across the Midwest. In 1987, Patrick's company was recognized as the nation's largest privately owned home satellite retailer. The same year, he welcomed his second daughter, Gatsby, named after his favorite book, to the world.

A natural-born salesman, Patrick would follow up with his customers a couple of weeks after installing the satellite dish, looking for a referral. He heard time and again that customers loved "having Disney for the kids, ESPN for dad, and TNN for music" but wondered why there wasn't any programming about agriculture, rodeo, and other rural interests on the networks. This feedback gave Patrick his initial idea for what would soon become his lifelong passion.

On August 31, 1988, Patrick launched RFD-TV from a studio in Omaha. RFD-TV was named after Rural Free Delivery, a program of the United States Post Office to deliver mail down every country road. Likewise, Patrick believed rural Americans should get the same access to news and entertainment that city folk enjoyed. It was vital to "connect city with country," so that people understood where their food came from. RFD-TV delivered six full hours of live news, markets, weather, and agribusiness features. The network was an instant hit with audiences. However, it was not picked up by any carriers, leading Patrick to file for bankruptcy in 1989.

Patrick divorced, and in March 1991, he moved to Fort Worth, TX, to work in the historic Ft. Worth Stockyards as the Director of Sales for Superior Livestock Auction. He was encouraged by Superior's founder, Jim Odle, that his idea of a 24/7 network dedicated to rural America was a great one. In 1996, Patrick left Superior to dedicate himself to being a dad and re-launching RFD-TV. Patrick worked relentlessly for the next four years, coaching his girls' softball teams and pitching his idea of a "rural network." During this time, he earned a living installing satellite dishes for Dish Network. His daughters often accompanied him on installs after school, calling out the signal strength while their dad was on the roof tuning the dish to its counterpart in the sky, and handing him a 7/16" wrench to tighten the bolts once they were "in the green."

Every investor he pitched the network to said it was a "stupid idea" and that "farmers don't watch TV." Eventually, Charlie Ergen, the Founder of Dish Network, told Patrick the 1992 Cable Act mandates satellite companies to reserve a few channels for educational or informational programming. Since providing rural news and education on agricultural interests was clearly informational, Charlie told Patrick to form a non-profit, and he would give him one channel. Charlie accurately predicted Patrick "wouldn't have any advertising support for years anyhow," and told him if the channel was successful, he could switch to a for-profit business in the future. Seizing this opportunity, within weeks, Patrick put together a hard drive full of rural content, much of which was already airing in local markets, including Texas Country Reporter, U.S. Farm Report, California Country, Georgia Farm Monitor, Big Joe Polka Show, Ag PhD, and classic horse shows. Despite having no studio, no employees, over the age of 16, and no money, Patrick re-launched RFD-TV on Dish Network on December 15, 2000. The experimental format of four networks in one, agriculture, equine, music, and rural lifestyle, proved to be a success.

Patrick built the network backwards, seeking distribution in rural markets first instead of focusing on New York and LA. His strategy worked, and distribution expanded to DirecTV in March 2002. That same year, RFD-TV signed its first cable agreement with Mediacom, becoming a basic cable channel in Des Moines, IA. New markets followed one by one, with distribution reaching more than 30 million homes by September 2006. The network also continued to expand its programming, including live broadcasts of cattle auctions from Superior Livestock Company. In 2007, RFD-TV switched to a for-profit network, providing Patrick with new opportunities.

The rest, as they say, is history. Patrick continued to innovate, transforming ideas into powerful platforms that brought the heart and soul of rural America to screens across the nation. He opened a theatre in Branson, MO, 2006. Where legends such as The Beach Boys, Willie Nelson, and Larry the Cable Guy performed. He secured an agreement with radio personality Don Imus to simulcast Imus in the Morning, 2007. He "saved" Trigger and Bullet, 'Roy Rogers' famous palomino and German shepherd, 2010. He broke the Guinness World Record for Largest Parade of Classic Tractors, 2012. He made the first ever one million donation to the FFA, 2012. He launched Rural Radio on Sirius XM and broke the Guinness World Record for largest Pick-Up Truck Parade at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 2013. Along with Randy Bernard, he crowned the first one million cowboy at The American Rodeo, 2014.

In 2017, Patrick launched The Cowboy Channel, which became the Official Network of ProRodeo. In an instant, he changed the western sports industry forever, and found a home and community he loved. One of his greatest honors in life was being recognized as the Resistol 2022 Man of the Year at the National Finals Rodeo.

His passion and vision shaped a company and an industry, but it was his passion for family that defined him. In 2011, Patrick met Angie Good, who became his wife and his oasis from the relentless demands of the business world. Together, they shared laughter and a beautiful daughter, Rose. Like her dad, Rose has a quick wit and playful sense of humor. She fearlessly tackles challenges with the same determination and is credited as the founder of The Cowgirl Channel, sharing his innovative spirit.

Patrick always missed the family farm. At the end of his life, he bought back some of the land from the original family farm and ran it with his brother, Mickey. He was always most at home in the cab of a tractor.

Beyond his remarkable career, Patrick was a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, and uncle. He is survived by his wife, Angie, and their daughter, Rose; his daughter, Raquel, her husband, Sean, and their children, Case and Carson; his daughter, Gatsby, her husband, David, and their children, Eleanor and Sylvan; his sister, Terri, her husband, Dan, and their children, Chuck and Dillon; his sister, Tammy, her husband, Al, and their children, Andrea, Sara, and Nick; his sister, Toni, her husband, Tom, and their children, T.J. and Samantha; his brother, Mickey, his fiancé, Julie, and his children, Devon and Nolan; and countless cousins, friends and colleagues. Patrick was preceded in death by his father, Pat; his mother, Gloria; and his oldest sister, Patricia, who passed away at birth. He will be buried next to them in his hometown of Elkhorn, where he continued to live throughout his long and meaningful life.

FUNERAL SERVICE: Friday, 10 a.m., St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Elkhorn. INTERMENT at Mt. Calvary Cemetery, Elkhorn. In lieu of flowers, the family asks donations be made to the National FFA Foundation in Patrick's honor. Please visit https://donate.ffa.org to donate, and put "in Memorial of Patrick Gottsch