Thomas Vandiver

Funeral services for Tom Van
er were held at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, June 25, 2007 at the First Presbyterian Church located at the corner of Roselawn and Grand in Artesia. Eddie Guy, Gary Sims, Ross Waldrip, Jim Brown, Frank Waters and Mickie Seeber will serve as pallbearers, and Jerry Losee, Manuel Maldonado, Sr., Rick Harrell, Johnny Moreno and Loren Toohey are honorary pallbearers.

Thomas Edward Van
er passed away Wednesday, June 20, 2007, at Artesia General Hospital after a brief illness. Mr. Van
er, a farmer and rancher, had been a resident of Artesia since 1952. He was born in Thomasville, Georgia, April 6, 1918, the only son of Jewel Sumner Van
er and Josephine Anderson Van
er, both of whom preceded him in death. He was also predeceased by three of his sisters, Lillian Smith, Harriet Hubbard, and Marie Wray. His youngest sister, Jewell Holleman of Auburn, Alabama, survives him.

Mr. Van
er attended Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia, on a football scholarship. His team played in the inaugural football game at the Orange Bowl Stadium in Miami.

After college, he taught high school mathematics and coached various sports in Georgia until the outbreak of World War II, whereupon he enlisted in the Army Air Corp. He was made an officer and served as a pilot instructor until the wars conclusion. Although he sought a combat role, injuries he had sustained during his football years kept him stateside, much to his disappointment and lifelong chagrin.

While stationed at Marana Air Base in Tucson, Van met his wife of nearly sixty-two years, Mary Jo Sears. The couple was wed in Bellville, Illinois, on September 1, 1945. The wedding had been scheduled to take place in Artesia on that date, but Van informed his bride-to-be that he would be unable to obtain leave to participate in the nuptials at that time, so her father, Ross Sears, delivered the bride by car, train and taxi to the eager groom, along with her new Neiman Marcus credit card.

After the war, Tom worked as a safety engineer for Gulf Oil Corporation. During those years, he and Jody lived in Crane, Odessa and Ft. Worth, Texas. In 1952, Tom, Jody and their children moved to Artesia where Tom assisted his father-in-law, Ross Sears, with his farming and ranching operation on the Peasco. He farmed in the Pecos Valley for fifty years.

Mr. Van
er is survived by his wife Jody, and by three children, Susan Bryant and her husband Corbet, Karen Van
er, and David Van
er and his wife Bambi who, until the day he died, never knew him as anything but Daddy. He is also survived by their offspring, who called him Van: Ross Waldrip and his wife Lisa Elfring, Elise Darden and her husband Jay, Robin Dawson and her husband Will, Adrienne Wooldridge and her husband Zach, Catherine Lynn and her husband Jon, Hillary Coyle and her husband Ben, Paige Bryant and Calley Van
er. He attended most of their births, endured their graduations, and danced at their weddings, and they adored him. He is also survived by ten great-grandchildren: Sophie Dawson, Hannah Waldrip, Harper Darden, Gracie Waldrip, Sumner Wooldridge, Corbet Darden, Mabry Dawson, Miles Wooldridge, Jade Blea and Rachel Waldrip. His extended family includes his sister-in-law, Sally Sears, her five children, Molly Holst, Patrick Seeber, Carrie Elliott, Mickie Seeber and Katie Kutrubis and their offspring and the children of his sister Lillian, Vandi Stafford and Frank Smith.

For Tom Van
er, the finest man alive was both a prince and a scholar. He admired Robert E. Lee above all men. His favorite books were Ivanhoe and Owen Wisters The Virginian, both of whose heroes were gentlemen. His word was his bond. He reveled in the company of men and cared deeply for his friends. He loved nothing more than hunting deer, quail and ducks with his best friends Jerry Losee, Eddy Ward and Raymond Lamb, entertaining his friends and family, both in Artesia and at his mountain homes, watching football and eating bacon. He was a pretty fine fry cook and thought his wifes cooking was the best in town. When she announced a few years back that she thought shed given enough time to the preparation of his meals, he said, But, honey, you do such a good job. Van was no fool. He admired and respected women of all ages, and he never minded being in the presence of a pretty girl.

It was entirely fitting and proper that rain began to fall at the moment of his passing. Beyond his personal farming interests, Van devoted considerable energies to water. Whether it was preserving Artesia from the ravages of flooding, conserving and maintaining the quality and quantity of water for the farming community and local municipalities, ensuring that Artesia and its environs received their fair share of the water in the Pecos Valley, or maintaining the purity of the water that went into his 35-year old Scotch, water was always of paramount importance to Van. He upheld these values in a variety of capacities. He served as a flood commissioner for a number of years and testified before Congress on the need for a retention dam west of Artesia. For nearly fifty years he served on the Board of Directors of the Pecos Valley Artesian Conservancy District, acting as Chairman and President for more than thirty years.

Education was of paramount importance to Tom Van
er. Both his mother and father and all of his sisters were teachers. Tom was long associated with New Mexico State University and the New Mexico State University Foundation. He served on the Foundation Board for a number of years and was named its president. He was proud to receive the Branding Iron Award for his outstanding contributions to the Foundation.

Mr. Van
er was for many years a member of the Cotton Council. He was elected to the Artesia City Council and served most of his term as mayor of the city.

Van served on the Board of Directors of the First National Bank of Artesia from 1980 until 2002. He was an elder of the First Presbyterian Church of Artesia, where he served on the Session several times. His membership in and service to his church were an integral part of his life.

Despite his many kindnesses and accomplishments, Van was a modest and humble man, and he was never comfortable during the many occasions he was recognized for his contributions. As the reader may have discerned, his children have no such scruples.

He dearly loved his God, his family, his friends, Artesia, the Pecos Valley and his country.

His family will miss him dreadfully.

The family suggests memorial contributions be made to the New Mexico State University Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 3590, Las Cruces, NM 88003-3590; or First Presbyterian Church, 402 W. Grand Ave., Artesia, NM 88210.