Irene Echeverria Aja
Irene and Bas Aja - 1891
Buckeye - Maricopa County
Inducted in 2016
Born in Winslow in 1931, Irene Echeverria's life has been intertwined with the sheep industry. 'Raising sheep had been a way of life for us,' Irene fondly recalls. Her unwavering dedication to the animals, the land, and the outdoors has been a source of inspiration. 'Ranch life is all we have ever known, and a lifetime has been spent providing food and fiber for America.'
Irene’s father, Fermin Echeverria, was a Basque immigrant from Viscarret, Navarras, in the Pyrenees Mountains of Spain, who came to the country in 1910. When Fermin first set eyes on an attractive American-born Basque girl who was visiting Flagstaff in 1918, it was love at first sight. She was there to help her Uncle Gregorio Erro at his Basque boarding house. He and Berancia Erro Miranda were married that October. Even though Berancia had been born in Los Angeles, she lost her citizenship when she married a non-citizen. She had to apply for citizenship as if she were an immigrant. Eventually, Fermin became a U.S. citizen, and Berancia regained her citizenship.
Irene’s family spent their summers on the ranch on the Mogollon Rim south of Winslow and wintered in Wickenburg and Phoenix. She graduated from St. Mary’s Girls High School in Phoenix in 1949.
1947 Irene met Basilio Aja at the Wool Growers meeting in Flagstaff. He had just graduated from Glendale Union High School. His brother, Manuel, had received a football scholarship at Arizona State College. Bass wanted Manuel to take full advantage of the opportunity, so he decided to work with his father instead of attending college.
When the Aja Sheep Company was established in 1950, Buckeye became its home base. Although the Ajas have owned and leased ranches throughout the state, Buckeye remained home.
“The first year we lived in an 18-foot long trailer, and my husband built us an outhouse,” Irene remembers. “The second year, after coming down with the sheep in the fall, we rented a home in Buckeye.” When I became pregnant with our first child, he went into Phoenix and purchased one of these homes they build on lots in Phoenix.” They moved the two-bedroom house to ten acres. Bas’s parents gave them the house on the family farm in Buckeye. In 1964, they remodeled the house and added two stories. “I have lived in that house since 1951, and I’m going to be there until the day the good Lord takes me,” she said.
In 1950, Bass and his brother Manuel, having bought out their partner, Tomas Cuesta, pooled their sheep, equipment, and finances with their father—Manuel, who gave half his sheep to their brother, Robert. The group formed the Aja Sheep Company with 400 eves. “Manuel Aja owned a ranch north of Williams, and this is where the sheep grazed during the summer,” Irene said.
Irene and Bass left the business in 1961. Over the years, they leased several ranches around the state until they bought the Black Rock Ranch north of Joseph City, which they sold in 2012. “We sold the ewes in 2005, and it was much like losing a loved one,” she said.
Like her husband, Irene has been active in Arizona agricultural organizations all her life. She belonged to the Woolgrowers and served as Arizona Lamb Promotion Chairman. She served as president of the Arizona Woman in Agriculture and was a member of the Public Lands Council. Her activities have taken her from the local to the national level. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan invited her to a White House briefing. Although she did not get to the president, she was thrilled by the invitation. “Camela Perry went. She and I got it. We were in Oregon at the National American Agriculture Convention that year. When we got word that President Reagan invited Carmela Perry and me to Washington, we took the first plane out of Eugene.”
Irene and Bas had a rich family life, raising two sons, Basillo (Bas) Fermin and Roy Manuel, and four daughters, Rachel, Melanie, Gigette, and Christine. Their family grew over the years, and they were blessed with fourteen grandchildren and eighteen great-grandchildren, a testament to their enduring legacy.
Affiliations
American AgriWomen — Board
Arizona Wool Grower’s Auxiliary
Arizona State Lamb Promotion — Chairwoman
Arizona Women for Agriculture — President
Arizona Public Lands Council
Western Range Association
