Ernest Joe Valdez

ERNEST JOE VALDEZ Funeral Mass for former area resident and current Thornton, Colo. resident Ernest Joe Valdez will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, September 25 at St. Rita Catholic Church in Mancos. Interment will follow at Cedar Grove Cemetery. A Rosary service has been scheduled for Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. at St. Rita Catholic Church. Ernest was born on June 19, 1922 in Dulce, N.M. the son of Elipo and Teresa (Martinez) Valdez. He passed away on Saturday, September 20, 2008 at St. Anthony Hospital in Denver, Colo. at the age of 86. Ernest grew up in McPhee, Colo. and at the age of 16 he left home to join the C.C.C. Camp. He then returned to the Mancos area where he became a logger, he spent most of his working life logging. Ernest decided to end his logging career and he spent the next 13 years sheep herding in the Gunnison Basin. After his retirement, Ernest went on to work for the senior service program with the Dolores Forest Service. His hard work and dedication brought Ernest many rewards of excellence. Ernest married Lucia Velasquez on October 12, 1940 in Cortez. The couple raised six children together. In his spare time, Ernest loved to be outdoors. He enjoyed boating, fishing, and traveling. He cherished the time he spent with his grandchildren. Surviving Ernest are his children, Donnie Valdez and wife, Thelma of Thornton, Colo., Sally Martinez of Mancos, Richard Valdez and wife, Kareen of Aurora, Colo., Ernest "Tito" Jaramillo and wife, Dolores of T.A., N.M., and Maxine Lumis and husband, Peaches of Montrose, Colo.; 23 grandchildren, 33 great-grandchildren; and 9 great-great-grandchildren; and his siblings, Sophie Speer of Cortez, Sam Valdez and wife, Cora of Denver, Colo., and Louise Martinez of Denver, Colo. Ernest was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Lucia Valdez; his son, Adolph Valdez; five brothers and sisters; and Maxine's birth mother, Bertha Valdez.