Generations of family and friends came together earlier this month to celebrate the tremendous influence a longtime Boerne local has had on their lives.
The crowd gathered April 18 on the family ranch of Juanita Herff Chipman for her 104th birthday. Attendees shared memories and reflected on how both the family matriarch and home have shaped decades.
“Mother, we want to thank you for our lives and the gift of this amazing ranch, this place we’ve all had such an opportunity to enjoy all our lives,” said daughter Carolyn Chipman Evans. “To honor your footsteps for your birthday, your family gives you the gift of knowing that we will continue to love and protect this ranch.”
Juanita leads a large and devoted family, including six children, 14 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren — all bound not only by love, but by a shared connection to the land that has held their family together for eight generations.
According to son Jerry Drought, Juanita said she would leave the family the Herff Ranch only if they could come together and agree on specific allocations.
“She wasn’t really good at spelling or arithmetic, but her wisdom was incredible. (She said), ‘If you can’t agree, I’m going to give it to the church,’” Drought said. “We all agreed.”
Born April 17, 1922, in San Antonio, Juanita and her twin sister, Carolyn, entered the world under difficult circumstances. Their mother, Carol Herff, died at just 18 from complications of childbirth, and their father, August, was still in medical school.
The twins were raised by their grandparents at the family home in Boerne they call Suitsus, meaning “suits us.”
Though they attended school in San Antonio, their hearts belonged to the ranch along Cibolo Creek, where they spent weekends and summers riding horses, swimming, fishing and exploring the land. They were “real tomboys,” according to Cousin John Krueger. At 17, Juanita met Jimmy Drought. They married in 1941, as he began his career as a Navy pilot before becoming an attorney. Tragedy struck in 1960 when he was killed, and Juanita was left to raise their five children on her own.
Determined and resilient, family members recalled, she pursued a real estate license, an endeavor that led her to Guy Chipman. A fellow realtor and World War II veteran, they married in 1961 and built a life together that blended family and enterprise.
Guy founded the Guy Chipman Real Estate Company, which grew into the largest locally owned real estate agency in San Antonio. Together, they raised six children and shared 59 years of marriage.
The Herff Ranch remained central across decades. Juanita’s deep connection to the land helped inspire Carolyn to establish a home there, along with the Cibolo Center for Conservation, preserving part of the original ranch for future generations.
The family’s commitment to stewardship runs deep. They have shared portions of their land with the community, including property for the county fairgrounds and Boerne High School.
Today, much of the ranch is protected under permanent conservation, ensuring its legacy endures.
For Juanita’s 104th birthday, family members said they offered a gift that reflects her life’s greatest lesson: a promise to continue loving and protecting the land she cherished, and to carry forward the legacy she lives.
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