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Hollis Edwin (Ed) Gary, 85, of Rincon, NM, died Monday, November 29, 1999 at Memorial Medical Center. He was born on November 23, 1914 in Ganada, Texas to William Hollis and Sally Owens Gary. Hollis had been a farmer in the Mesilla and Rincon Valleys and will be greatly missed by all that loved him. Ed graduated from Valley High School (presently Gadsden) in 1931 and went on to graduate from New Mexico A&M (currently known as NMSU) with a degree in electrical engineering in 1936. He worked as a surveyor for the Department of Agriculture, and served as an inspector for the Department of the Interior on the Caballo Dam Construction Project, Earthen Dam Project in Grassy Lake Idaho, and Grand Coulee Dam Project in Washington. In 1939, he became General Manager of the Hatch Co-operative Cotton Gin and remained there until 1945 when he entered farming full-time with his father. In December of 1939, at St. James Epsicopal Church in Mesilla Park,"Preacher" Lewis married Ed and Anita Cunningham of Hatch, NM. Ed was very active with the school system in the Hatch Valley beginning as a member on the Rincon School Board, after school consolidation in 1952, he remained a member of the Hatch School Board for 16 years. He also served as president of the New Mexico School Board Association. Ed purchased a plane and learned to fly in the 1950s, becoming a member of the New Mexico Flying Farmers. He also held a membership to the New Mexico ASCS Committee from 1968 to 1972 and the Lions Club. Ed had been a director for Western Bank. Also involved in politics, Ed also made a run for State Representative, District 36 in New Mexico. Throughout his life, Ed took delight in many hobbies, including baseball, dancing, learning to use the computer, letter writing and crossword puzzles. Ed enjoyed people and had a great sense of humor. Survivors include his daughters, Patty Halsell and husband, Bill of Rincon, NM and JoEllyn Walker and husband, Roger of Las Cruces; brother, Woodrow O. Gary and wife, Caroline of Hatch, NM; grandchildren include Tammy Heim and husband, Brian of Radium springs, NM, Anne Gentile and husband, Dan of Cincinnati, OH, Jay Gates and wife, Colleen of Faiacres, NM, and Joan Halsell and fiance, Jim Allen of Albuquerque; great-grandchildren include William, Ashley, Samuel and Laine of Las Cruces, NM. A Memorial service was held at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, December 1, 1999, at Garden of Memories Cemetery in Hatch, NM, with Rev. Jim Wood officiating. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Children's Network or to Mesilla Valley Hospice. Arrangements by Getz Funeral Home, corner of Solano and Bowman Ave., Las Cruces, NM, 526-2419.
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