Wesley Menefee

Wesley Alton Menefee was born on May 25, 1934 in Hagerman, New Mexico to Howard Robinett and Florene Lankford Menefee. Wesley was the oldest of four children and was lucky enough to live on the same farm outside of Hagerman from birth until the time he left for college.

Wesley married Bobbie Beth Ballard on June 27, 1954. He and Beth moved to Las Cruces for Wesley to attend New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts (later New Mexico State University) where he graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Animal Husbandry.

After graduating, Wesley and Beth moved back to the Pecos Valley where Wesley worked forthe Dexter's Farmers Co-op and the Dexter gin until he was called into the service in 1957.Wesley was stationed at Ft. Carson, in Colorado Springs, Colorado then at Ft. Ord in Monterrey,California for basic training. He was then sent to Augsburg, Germany and spent three months inLebanon.

After returning to the states Wesley farmed 80 acres west of Dexter where he started byborrowing his parents equipment until they were ready to buy more land. After their son Dwight was born in 1959 and their daughter Paula in 1962 they decided it was best to move to an area where they could find more land, despite loving the town of Dexter and the people there.

In 1964 they bought a farm in the Cottonwood area and their son Ross was born. They settled into the Cottonwood area where they loved their neighbors, growing especially close to Bob and Jo Mayberry and Cecil and Jan Conklin.

Wesley bought and leased additional farms and a ranch over the years, growing a variety of crops including alfalfa, vegetables, cotton, and raising sheep and cattle. Wesley was a pioneer for efficient water usage and dedicated much of his life to studying proper irrigation usage and serving on water conservation boards. He was the first farmer in the Pecos Valley to install a sprinkler system for crop irrigation purposes.

In 1990, Wesley and Beth moved to Artesia where Wesley started driving north, south, east and west of town to take care of the cows, ranches and farms. Wesley retired from active farming in 1999 and built a custom horse trailer with living quarters. He enjoyed trail riding all over the Southwest. He took one of the farms and developed and sold the Meadowview Estates Subdivision street by street, lot by lot along south 13th Street and Tumbleweed.

Wesley was an active member of the community where he was a member of First Methodist Church Artesia where he served on several committees. He served on the Eddy County Fair Board, Eddy County Agricultural Community committee, Central Valley Soil & Water Conservation Board of Directors, Cottonwood-Walnut Watershed Board of Directors, Cottonwood Volunteer Fire Department and Pecos Valley Artesian Conservancy District.

Wesley enjoyed spending time with family, traveling in their motorhome, trail riding, playing solitaire and dominoes, and teasing his six grandkids to educate them. Overall, he was a lifelong advocate for agriculture and the western lifestyle.

He is survived by son Dwight and his wife Terri of Cottonwood, New Mexico; daughter Paula and her husband Mike Nuanes of Rio Rancho, New Mexico; and their son Ross and Lisa AnglinBurris, of Cottonwood, New Mexico.

His legacy will continue to live on in he and Beth's six grandchildren: Seth Dwight Menefee and his wife Johnna of Cottonwood, New Mexico; Owen Wesley Densford of Orange County, California; Tad Hollis Menefee of Cottonwood, New Mexico; Joy Treva Hendrix and her husband Cody of Cottonwood, New Mexico; Logan Rae Smothermon and her husband Tucker Smothermon of Lubbock, Texas; and Kandace Lea Menefee of Lubbock, Texas; as well as his three great-grandsons, Haven McCoy Hendrix, Harvey Chisum Hendrix, and Rush Everett Menefee all of Cottonwood, New Mexico.

He is also survived by sisters Sharla Hamilton and husband Don, and Linda Kay Jones and husband Barry.

Wesley was reunited with Beth in heaven on January 7, 2024.

Services will be held on Monday, January 13 at 2 p.m. at First Methodist Church in Artesia. If you wish to order flowers for the service, the family requests that all orders go directly to SonFlowers in Artesia, NM.

Donations in Wesley's honor can be made to First Methodist Church in Artesia or the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.