Bennie L. Valencia

BENNIE L. VALENCIA Funeral Mass for longtime Cortez resident Bennie L. Valencia will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 15 at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church. Reverend Pat Valdez, C.R. will officiate. Inurnment will take place at Ignacio Catholic Cemetery. Rosary services will be held Thursday evening at 6 p.m. at the church. Bennie was born April 27, 1931 in Ignacio, Colo. the son of Louis G. and Francis M. (Manzanares) Valencia. He passed away on Saturday, April 9, 2016 at his residence at the age of 84. On August 10, 1950, Bennie married Cordelia D. Samora in Ignacio, Colo. The couple shared 65 years of marriage. Bennie and Cordy raised their family in Ignacio, Colo. He was a business man all of his life, providing for his wife and four sons. Surviving Bennie are his wife, Cordy Valencia of Cortez; his children, Alex Valencia (Shirley) of Albuquerque, N.M., Jimmie Valencia (Diane) of Apache Junction, Ariz., Salmon Valencia (Joe) of Maple Valley, Wash., and Bennie Valencia (Diane) of Corona, Calif.; seven grandchildren, five great-grandchildren; and by his siblings, Harry Valencia of Ignacio, Colo., and Manuel Valencia of Aztec, N.M. Bennie was preceded in death by his parents; and by his siblings, Billy Valencia and Concie Key.