In Memoriam …
Duane E. Webb, 78, Phoenix, Arizona, passed away quietly on August 16, 2014. Duane was born November 13, 1936 in Miami, Arizona, to Jack J. and Helen M. Webb both Arizona natives. Jack was son of E. J. Webb a native Arizona Rancher in Gila County. Duane was raised at the A Cross and Reynolds Creek with his family until he was nine. The family moved to the Tempe area, where his father had a dairy operation up until 1962. Duane graduated from Tempe Union High School in 1955, and received his BS degree in Livestock production from Arizona State University in 1961. Duane married Louise Thompson on June 1, 1959 in Tempe. After college they moved to Tonto Basin and ran a ranch for a year, then moved back to Tempe in 1962. Duane went to work for Arizona Livestock PCA for five years as a livestock loan officer. He spent a total of 15 years with Arizona Livestock PCA, three years with the Federal Land Bank and six years with Hebbard & Webb Co. In 2002 he retired after 16 years with Headquarters West Ltd, and formed his own appraisal firm with Steve Pendleton, Southwestern Ag Services, LLC doing appraisals and selling agricultural real estate. Duane was a member of the Arizona Cattle Growers’, Arizona National Livestock Show, American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, was a Jaycee in Tempe, and a DeMolay in Tempe, he was a staff Sargent in C Battery Artillery for six years with a field artillery unit. He is survived by his wife, Louise, Scottsdale; son, Dennis Webb (wife, Jenny); daughter, Tracee Dwyer (husband, Tim); son, Brian Webb, Austin, Nevada; son, Shannon Webb, Henderson, Nevada; sister, DeeOn Kuspert (husband, John), Renton, Washington and Mesa, Arizona; and eight grandchildren.
Glenn Powell, 62, Denton, Texas, passed away on August 16, 2014. Born on August 27, 1951 in Denton to Howard and Bonnie Rowe Powell, he married Angie Reynolds on March 22, 1985 in Denton, Texas. Born and raised in Denton, Joe graduated from Denton High School in 1969. Father, Husband, Brother, Son, Uncle, Cowboy, Artist, Firefighter, Comedian, Ranch Hand, and President are a few of the many titles he held over his life span. Throughout his life Joe was very active in the rodeo community. Owner and operator of JP’s Boot and Saddle Shop for the past 16 years, Joe made his living transforming leather in to works of art for others. Joe found his true calling in 2009 when he became President of Texas Cowboys Against Cancer; an organization founded in honor of his sister, Johnnie Neely, which devotes itself to helping those diagnosed with cancer. Joe is survived by his wife, Angie; son, Jace Powell; mother, Bonnie Owens; sister, Fran Fritz (husband, Bobby) and sister Cindy Schiller (husband, Sam); brother-in-law Tom Neely; mother-in-law Kaye Mitchell; as well as nieces, nephews and cousins.
Clare Emily Wood, 17, Pasamonte, died Sunday, August 10, 2014. Clare was born on October 7, 1996 in Amarillo, Texas to Chip Wood and Sammie (Britt) Wood. Clare attended school in Clayton where she was involved in Clayton High School volleyball, FFA and Cheer and was a member of the National Honor Society. Clare was a member of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Clayton. She is survived by her parents; brother Guston Wood; sister Sally Rastogi (husband, Raghav), Dallas, Texas; maternal grandparents Sam and Rosalie Britt, Pasamonte; paternal grandparents: Eddie Frank and Barbara Faye Wood, Meade, Oklahoma; aunts Sandy Wyley-Vaughn (husband, Barry), Amarillo, Texas; and Shelley (husband, Ross) Carter, Clayton; many cousins, and many friends that she loved.
Debora Jo Nunez, 53, Las Cruces, passed away August 13, 2014. Debbie was born to Tomasita Valenciano and the Thomas Fraser on January 13, 1961 at White Sands Missile Range. On June 6, 1987, she married Darrel Nunez. She has been his best friend, traveling companion and partner as they traveled around the world through her husband’s military career. After seeing the world, they decided to make Las Cruces their home once again. Debbie is survived by her husband Darrel Nunez; mother Tomasita V. Fraser; three children: Jennifer Duran, Joleen Marquez, and Jared Nunez; her two brothers: Jerry Fraser and Michael Fraser; her three grandchildren as well as numerous nieces and nephews
Melanie Rose Evans, 57, Las Cruces, passed away at Mountain View Regional Medical Center on July 30, 2014. Melanie was born December 22, 1956 in Morocco Africa at the Nouasseur Air Force Base, to William S. Gilliss and Rosemary Ann Mathes Gilliss. Melanie graduated from Mayfield High School in 1975. She also attended New Mexico State University. Melanie married Carl Bunch in 1975. Melanie married Kenneth E. Evans in September 1983. Melanie worked at Montgomery Wards for many of years, moving on to different opportunities. Melanie’s parents were members of Eastern Star, where she was a Rainbow Girl. Melanie was also a member of Faternal Order of Eagles. Melanie is survived by husband Kenneth; daughter Sharlotte R. Tellez (husband, Eddie) and son Daniel E. Evans; brothers Leo and Billy Gilliss; sister Marilyn Vaughan (husband, Lawarence,); two grandchildren as well as many nieces and nephews.
Phala Ann Whitaker, 54, Dexter, New Mexico, passed away on July 30, 2014. Phala was born January 30, 1960 in Duncan, Oklahoma, to Frank and Meredith Lindeneau Whitfield. Her parents survive her. She married Harold Whitaker on April 4, 1992 in Levelland, Texas. When she met Harold, she was a bookkeeper for Great Western Meat Co. in Whiteface, Texas. They moved to Roswell in 1994, and Phala was employed by A.T&T., as a bookkeeper, where she retired as an Administrative Assistant. She also worked for Harold Whitaker Livestock. She is survived by husband, Harold, two daughters, Kelsey Whitaker, Lubbock, Texas and Taylor Whitaker-Ellis, Dexter, New Mexico, a granddaughter, by five brothers, Scott Tipps and family, Levelland; Jay Thornton and Doug Thornton and their families, all of Albuquerque; Brad Whitfield and family, Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Russell Tipps and family, Bokoshe, Oklahoma; by her step-mother and father, Geneva and Frank Whitfield, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Phala had been very active for many years in the Chaves County Sheriff’s Posse, in the New Mexico 4-H program. She donated many hours to assisting youth organizations, where she was a rodeo announcer among other things.
Henry P McKinley, 85, Santa Fe, passed away on August 12, 2014 surrounded by friends and family after being sick for several months. Henry was born in Lynn, Massachusetts and when very young was brought out West by his parents ending up at the Ghost Ranch near Abiqui, New Mexico. He lived many years of his youth on the Ghost Ranch before attending New Mexico Military Institute, the University of Arizona and graduating with an Agriculture degree from what is now New Mexico State University. He served in Korea during the war where he took his rope to practice and teach other soldiers how to rope a dummy. When he returned after Korea he worked jobs in northern New Mexico and later began a career in Range Management working for the US Bureau of Land Management in southwest New Mexico and later moved on to be a Range Manager for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in northern New Mexico. He has been working his own cattle for over 50 years having had several ranches, the latest being Rancho Viejo on the south side of Santa Fe. Henry trained his own roping horses and trained horses for others. Henry won numerous championships and buckles for roping events over the years. He was a member of the New Mexico Old Timers Rodeo Association. His love of roping led him to help begin and support the Deaf Rodeo Association. He was very involved in that organization as he had a multitude of friends in the deaf community due to his son Forrest becoming deaf as a child due to measles. If you visited Henry you were just as likely to pick a bow for a ‘stump shoot’ as to pick up a rope. He taught a lot of kids and adults archery and if you looked close you could see arrow holes in his hat that he would throw in the air as a target for fledgling archers. Henry will be sorely missed by hundreds who he helped and befriended as he is one of the last real old-time cowboys left. Henry is survived by his wife Margaret (Peg), son Ward McKinley as well as three step-children, two grandchildren, two step-grandchildren and numerous cousins. In lieu of flowers please remember Henry through is favorite organizations, the New Mexico School for the Deaf and also a program for combat veterans, Horses for Heroes at www.horsesforheroes.org. A memorial will be held at Henry’s home arena, 13B Bonanza Creek Rd., Santa Fe, N.M. on Sept. 20 at 10:30 a.m.