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Benjamin J. Baca, born Friday, August 28, 1925 and died Sunday, February 1, 2004. He was born in Santa Rosa, NM and was one of five children of Ben C. and Josephina Baca. His grandfather, Celso Baca, was Santa Rosa's town founder. Baca was preceded in death by his wife, Diana; his parents, Ben C and Josephina; brother, Louis; and sister, Luz Sandoval. He is survived by his daughter; Nancy and husband, Ted Jurney; sister, Josie Beutler; nephew Floyd Beutler all of Albuquerque; sister, Maida Garcia; niece, Loretta Whipple both of Alamogordo; nephews, Eddie Baca, Rick Garcia, and Robert Garcia all of Taos; Joe L. Sandoval of Santa Fe; and Larry Baca of North Hollywood, CA; nieces, Patsy Lorenz, Denise Baca and Barbara Minzer all of San Diego, CA; Yvette Lucy of Woodland Hills, CA; Julie Thiele of Oakdale, CA; and Christine Kidwell of Napa Valley, CA. Baca served in the Coast Guard and Air Force from 1943 to 1946, achieving the rank of Sergeant. In the late 1940's, he went to Mexico as an inspector with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Mexican American Commission for the Eradication of Foot and Mouth Disease. The program sent bilingual inspectors and veterinarians into Mexican cattle farms to teach ranchers about how to eradicate the disease. He traveled on horseback with vaccination teams, local cowboys and Mexican soldiers throughout central Mexico. Through their efforts the disease was eradicated. It was at one of these cattle ranches where he met his wife, Diana. Her uncle ran a ranch near Taxco and Diana spent the summers there riding horses. Baca fell in love with Diana and the couple later married in Mexico City. The Bacas lived in Mexico City briefly and then moved to Las Cruces, NM where Baca earned a degree from New Mexico State University. Baca took a job with the United Fruit in the Dominican Republic in the mid 1950's. From there he took a job as plant manager with Ralston Purina in Maracay, Venezuela. His daughter, Nancy was born while the Bacas were in Venezuela. The family moved to Albuquerque in 1962. Baca went to work for the Forest Service, in the Cibola National Forest. He worked his way up to Forest engineer for the Cibola. He retired in 1982. Baca enjoyed his time with the Forest Service, especially when he was called out to forest fires in New Mexico and surrounding states. In his retirement, Baca pursued his dream of being a gentlemen farmer. He revitalized his family farm in Santa Rosa, planting acres of apple trees and alfalfa and starting a grape vineyard. He joined the New Mexico Apple Council and served on Santa Rosa's Soil Conservation board. His grapes were used by several New Mexico wineries including La Chiripada and Madison. For his work in Santa Rosa, Baca was named Farmer of the year for Guadalupe County twice. Baca also served on the Santa Rosa Hospital Board in the early 1990s. He was also active in Los Aftosas, a group of inspectors and veterinarians who worked in Mexico in the 1940's and 50's. Baca attended and hosted several reunion functions. A rosary will be held Friday, 6:30 p.m., at French Mortuary, University Blvd. Chapel A funeral Mass will be held Saturday, 10:00 a.m., at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, 4020 Lomas NE. French Mortuary 1111 University Blvd. NE 843-6333
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