Bidding farewell to those who impacted the community

Sun-News report

LAS CRUCES - A number of notable Do a Ana County residents who made their mark on the community in many ways died in 2010. Here's a look back:

•H.A. "Hotch" Manning, 69, a veteran and businessman, died Jan. 18 following hip replacement surgery. Manning opened A-1 Rental Equipment after retiring from the U.S. Air Force in 1979 and expanded the operation throughout New Mexico and West Texas, leading to his 1995 election as president of the American Rental Association. After selling the business, he joined Citizens Bank of Las Cruces in 1998, eventually ascending to board chairman in 2006.

• John Ivan Sutter, 34, a paramedic, was one of three people killed Feb. 5 when their Southwest Med Evac helicopter crashed during a nighttime training flight at McGregor Range. Sutter, who was the youngest New Mexican to earn his paramedic license, in 1994, went on to instruct many county emergency responders. A Master Mason, Sutter served as a captain both with the Mesilla Fire Department and the Do a Ana County Volunteer Fire Department, and had been a reserve police officer with the Sunland Park Police Department. Sutter and his wife were expecting their first child at the time of his death.

•Cathy Tracy, 61, USTPA director of tennis at Picacho Hills Country Club, died Feb. 21. The one-time top tennis player at San Diego State, Tracy competed in the U.S. Open while also teaming with Margaret Russo in the over-35 women's doubles field in 1984

before moving to Las Cruces in 2003 to teach and promote the sport to Las Cruces youth. She was the junior coordinator for the Las Cruces Tennis Players Association and the head coach at Las Cruces High School before becoming the pro at Picacho Hills.

•Austin Wayne Smith, 15, a well-liked Anthony (N.M.) High School freshman collapsed at baseball practice at the Ernie Rascon Baseball Park and died March 15. Described by a teammate as "the life of the team," Smith was believed to have died after an asthma attack and was remembered at a school memorial - during spring break - attended by 100. The team dedicated their next game to their fallen teammate, who also played basketball and ice hockey and was ranked in the top 10 in the country in foosball.

•Helga Harries Delisle, 72, was killed with her husband Gilles, 69, and business-partner Peter Weith, 68, of San Diego, in the Delisles' Mesilla Hills home in a still-unsolved murder April 14. Helga, a native of Germany who volunteered and showed paintings at the cooperative Mesilla Valley Fine Arts Gallery, near the Mesilla Plaza, made her mark in Las Cruces as a linguist, a hiker, a world traveler and a yoga student.

•Manuel "Manny" Campos, 42, was killed May 7 after a U.S. 70 driver - who also died - made a sudden lane change, causing a four-vehicle crash that injured Campos' 10-year-old son and an out-of-state truck driver. Campos, a father of three who worked as the city of Las Cruces' risk manager, was remembered for his contributions to the city and the field of safety by the re-naming of an annual city award, now known as the Manuel Campos Excellence in Government Award.

•Bobby Lee Lawrence, 72, was killed May 9 in a car crash in Arizona. The "Southwest Wine Guy" was recently remembered by a $250,000 gift by his wife to New Mexico State University's School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management, where Lawrence's legacy will live on through the Bobby Lee Lawrence Academy of Wine. Lawrence, who wrote and taught about wine locally, was trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and the Culinary Institute of America.

•Pvt. Francisco J. Guardado-Ramirez, 21, of Sunland Park was killed June 2 after his heavily armored Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle ran into a highway overpass in Baghdad, Iraq. Guardado-Ramirez was a cannon crewmember with the 1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, based at Fort Stewart, Ga. He joined the Army in June 2008 and arrived at Fort Stewart in November of that year. It was his first deployment.

•Thomas M. Gale, 84, a longtime New Mexico State University educator and administrator, died July 1. Gale was named NMSU's first-ever emeritus professor in 2006 by the NMSU regents, after serving as dean of NMSU's College of Arts and Sciences from 1971 to 1991. Under his leadership the College of Arts and Sciences became the largest of the university's six colleges. The former Fulbright Scholar and his wife, Mary, established the Thomas M. Gale endowed fund for excellence in the College of Arts and Sciences.

•Claude Wes "C.W." Lenderman, 50, a longtime super truck racer and grandfather, was killed July 24 in an off-road vehicle crash. Lenderman fatally broke his neck and died after being ejected 100 yards from his Jeep as it rolled down the side of a mountain 10 miles southwest of Hatch. Lenderman had been four-wheeling with a group in a rugged area of the Robledo Mountains when the crash occurred.

•David Wortham, 64, who, with his wife, Dana, opened a little ice cream shop in 1996 called Scoopy's Frozen Custard, died July 28 of esophageal cancer. Scoopy's expanded in 2004, re-naming itself Caliche's Frozen Custard, after the "caliche," a milkshake so thick it must be eaten with a spoon. There are now five Caliche's locations, with one once located in Fresno, Calif.

• Richard "Dick" Green, 69, a pilot who was well-known in the Santa Teresa and El Paso aviation community, died July 29 of leukemia. Green began flying at the age of 12, the beginning of what would become a lengthy career in aviation. He worked as a pilot for Continental Airlines for 19 years and retired from Air Transport International at the age of 60. He also helped out the War Eagles Air Museum by ferrying aircraft from place to place. He was honored at the Do a Ana County Airport at Santa Teresa with airplane flyovers and a parachute drop.

•H. Drue Self, 78, a father of three and a Las Cruces real estate professional since 1962, died Aug. 11. Self first joined the board of the Las Cruces Association of Realtors in 1966 while working with Foreman Real Estate. He earned his brokers license in 1967 and opened Drue Self Real Estate that same year, going on to become a mentor to many area Realtors and brokers.

•Rudy Sandoval, 81, who operated what was Sandoval Dodge and eventually Sandoval Sales and Service for more than 40 years in Las Cruces, died Oct. 4. Sandoval had owned the auto dealership since 1969, but learned in May 2009 that Chrysler was dropping him, along with nearly 800 dealers across the nation, as it dealt with bankruptcy. The Army veteran who earned two Bronze Stars with the 235 Observation Battalion in Korea in 1952, changed the business name to Sandoval Sales & Service, a business that maintains any make of vehicle and also sells parts and used cars.

•Billie Ruth Ritter Simpson, 95, an NMSU benefactor, former owner of the Cloudcroft Lodge, and mother to Double Eagle restaurant owner C.W. "Buddy" Ritter and artist Sallie Ritter, died Oct. 6. Simpson and her late husband, John Barnes Ritter, founder of the J.B. Ritter Distributing Co. which marketed Texaco products, purchased the historic Cloudcroft Lodge in 1953 and she supervised lodge renovations and the extension to 18 holes of the golf course. Simpson also helped found the Las Cruces Country Club and the Ruidoso Jockey Club, served on the board of Planned Parenthood and headed the Las Cruces Garden Club.

•Ken E. Ohler, 71, a former Las Cruces city manager and city commission member, died Nov. 3. Ohler served in the U.S. Navy from 1963 to 1967, was city manager from July 1977 until January 1980 and served on the then-city commission from 1980 to 1982. During his tenure, Branigan Library, Meerscheidt Recreation Center, Jacob W. Hands Wastewater Treatment Plant, numerous ball fields and neighborhood parks, and the West Mesa rest stop overlooking the city off Interstate 10 all were constructed.

•Former Do a Ana County Clerk Rita Torres, 79, who held four terms in office over the span of four decades, died Nov. 23. Torres was hired at the clerk's office in 1964 and lost her last election in 2008 in a primary bid. She was first elected as clerk for a term from 1973-76 and was active in the county Democratic Party. Described as a "workhorse" who didn't want to retire, Torres raised five children and two of her 15 grandchildren.