John Cata�O

Services are scheduled at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, August 24, at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church for John J. Catao, 1405 S. 22nd Street, Artesia, New Mexico. PMr. Catao, 55, died Monday, August 21, 2006 at his sisters home in Hobbs, New Mexico. PFr. Paul Murtagh SS.CC. will officiate at the services with burial at Woodbine Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Rick Supka, Albert Castillo, Rudy Castillo, Rick Wiles, Jerome Aguilar, and Ronny Deporto. Honorary pallbearers will be David Lewis, Russ Stroble, Gay Pomroy, Roy Burkham, Craig Hiene, Eddie McGary, Manny Gomez, Manny Marquez, Marcus Catao, Fabien Catao, Leo Estrada, Jr., Raymond Cruz, Don Buechner, Marc Anthony Mancha, and Luis Fernando Quiroz. Also serving as honorary pallbearers will be Jose Antonio Hirojos, Adrian Vallejo, Frank Villa, B.R. Wilson, Jimmy Boyse, Maurice Pruitt, Richard Zuniga, Jerry Nevarez, Donny Buechner, Jimmy Hamilton, Glen Harper, and John Wesson. PA vigil service is also planned for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Our Lady of Grace. Visitation at Terpening amp; Son Mortuary will begin at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday. PMr. Catao was born October 4, 1950 in Artesia, New Mexico; the son of Encarnacion L. Catao and Belen Jimenez Catao. PHe was a lifelong resident of Artesia before moving to Hobbs in March of 2006. PJohn was an Emergency Service TechnicianFireman with the City of Artesia for 18 years and then worked at WIPP for 15 years. He was a member of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church. He also was an Artesia Volunteer Fireman, a participant of the WIPP Emergency Response and SurfaceMine Rescue Competition Teams, a Little League Coach, and Youth Soccer League Coach. PHe was preceded in death by his parents and his mother-in-law Dominga Villa.
Survivors include his father-in-law Frank H. Villa of Artesia; sons Gian Catao of Euless, Texas, and Giovy Catao of Artesia; daughter Velena Catao of Artesia; brothers Refugio Catao and wife Maria of Artesia, and Pomposo Catao and wife Thelma of Rio Rancho, N.M.; sisters Nancy Cruz and husband Ray Cruz, Jr. of Hobbs, and Carolina Catao of El Paso, Texas; and sister-in-Law Corrie Vineyard and husband Ernest of Ft. Davis, Texas.