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John R. Tomlin passed away November 28, 2006 at Mountain View Medical Center in Las Cruces, NM. He was born April 20, 1926 in Albuquerque, NM. John graduated from Las Cruces Union High School in 1944, and then entered the United States Army during WWII. While enlisted in the Army, he served as an Infantry Sergeant in Europe and trained the Military Police. He obtained his Bachelor's Degree in Agronomy, Soils, and Agriculture Education, and Master's Degree in Educational Administration from New Mexico State University. John was a well-respected farmer in the Mesilla Valley. In 1947 he started farming in the north valley and was later joined by his son Joel in 1982. Tomlin Farms and Seven L Bar produced very diverse crops which included onions, chile, corn, lettuce, cotton, cabbage, alfalfa, pumpkins, watermelons, and honeydews. In addition to farming, John was a legislator in the New Mexico House of Representatives from 1966 - 1976 (Chairman of Transportation, House of Appropriation Committee, Interim of School Study Committee, Vice Chairman of the Agriculture Committee, and Vice Chairman of the Water Committee), and he taught agriculture to Veterans at New Mexico State University in the early 1950s. John was a member of the Southwestern Irrigated Growers Co-op Board of Directors, Farm Service Agency United States Department of Agriculture State Committee (appointed by President Clinton), Winrock Foundation Farmer to Farmer Program to Nicaragua, First Presbyterian Church, Farm Bureau, Shriners, Toastmasters International, Masonic Lodge, Boy Scouts of America, Elks Club, and the Dona Ana County Rock Hounds. John received numerous awards throughout his life which included a Certificate of Achievement from the U. S. Secretary of Agriculture, numerous Toastmaster International Awards, a Soil Conservation and Natural Resources Award from the state of New Mexico, New Mexico State Fire Marshall Award for outstanding community work and leadership, New Mexico Board of Realtors Award for legislation for realtors, and the Governor King Award for the creation of the school funding law that is still in use today. John was very dedicated to the Presbyterian Church. He served as an officer to the church numerous times, and he enjoyed the challenges of working with the mission committee. One of the last things he did was to join other Presbyterians on a mission tour of Peru in July 2006. God always came first in his life, and he devoted countless hours to the church. John was a teacher to all he met. He was a compassionate man who had friends from all generations and walks of life. He loved the challenges of farming, the Mesilla Valley, politics, his family and friends. John will be missed by all who knew him, and life without him will never be the same. John is survived by his sons, John Timothy, Joel and his wife, Patricia; daughter, Jennifer and her husband, James U. Le Noir; grandchildren, David, Sarah, Rory, Douglas, Lauren, Ryan (Tomlin), Jeremy, and Joshua (Le Noir). He was preceded in death by his father, Roy; mother, Sallie; son, Jeffery; and his wife, Ina. John will lie in state December 1, 2006 at Graham's Mortuary from 1 to 8 p.m., with the family receiving visitors from 6 to 8 p.m. Funeral Services will be held at 11 a.m., December 2, 2006, First Presbyterian Church 200 E. Boutz, Las Cruces, NM. Burial Services will be held at the Masonic Cemetery with Military Honors. Pallbearers will be Manual Rosales, Mark Trujillo, Steven King, Matt Holt, Steve Lohman, and Steve Hardin. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in John's memory to the First United Presbyterian Church, 200 E. Boutz, Las Cruces, NM 88005 Services are with Graham's Mortuary, 555 West Amador, Las Cruces, NM.
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