Thomas Valdez

Tommy Gordon Valdez

On July 20, 2022, Thomas Gordon Valdez went to be with his Lord. Tommy was born to Bobby and Mary (Galvan) Valdez on December 10, 1958, in Roswell, New Mexico. He started his elementary years at St. Peter’s, where they said he was the nicest-dressed student each morning, but not so much by the end of the day.  He then went to Highland and Flora Vista Elementary Schools; he continued to Yucca and Mountain View Middle Schools, and then Roswell High School. His love of activity and sports started at the Hondo swimming pool, where he attended Aunt Flo’s beginning, intermediate, and advanced classes all held consecutively every day.

He started playing Pee Wee baseball with Reliable Motors, where he was coached by his uncles George and Jim Valdez and Steve Nunez, Sr.  He continued playing baseball at Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva, along with his Hall of Fame cousin Steve Nunez, Jr. and several other Roswell natives.

He was a lifelong sports player and fan and had a passion for cooking, pool, golf, the Oklahoma Sooners, the New York Yankees, and the Dallas Cowboys.  He also delighted in torturing his sisters in his younger days but smothered them with love and affection after he moved out of the house.  He would do ANYTHING for them.

Tommy loved spending time with his cousins and working on cars with them and Mary Kronauer, listening to his favorite music, especially Three Dog Night.   He was particularly proud of his candy apple red ’55 Chevy and his ’67 Mustang.

Tommy had a heart of gold.  He left his dream of living in the mountains of Ruidoso to move back to Roswell so he could care for his mother and father.  He used to drive out to the homeless to drop off socks, shoes, and other necessities.

He followed in the footsteps of his grandmother and mother and acquired the same love of cooking.  The family used to joke that he was the cooking daughter his mother never had.  He and his sister Adriene later went on to enjoy time together in the kitchen, laughing and cooking, especially at Thanksgiving.  (Roberta could only wash dishes.)  His mother taught him to make her famous rellenos, chile con queso, and sopaipillas, and he won blue ribbons for his sopaipillas at the Eastern New Mexico State Fair.  All his life, he enjoyed cooking and took much pride and joy in it. He loved feeding all people but beamed when hearing the oohs and ahhhs of his nieces and nephew at the breakfast table.  He felt especially privileged that he was able to feed the residents of Peachtree Village Retirement Home.

The birth of his son marked the most memorable and special day of Tommy’s life.  He could not take his eyes off of Ysai.  He was honored to give his parents their firstborn grandchild, especially since his father remarked that they were not getting any younger.

Tom had a solid work ethic and very rarely took a day off work.  He was co-owner of Nuthin’ Fancy in Ruidoso, and also worked at Subway and Postal Annex, where he met and befriended champion boxer Johnny Tapia.  He was currently Assistant Manager at Bell Gas Warehouse.

He is survived by his son, U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Ysai Storms-Valdez and his wife Allison, and their sons Harvey, Arthur, and Harrison; stepdaughter Charity Galloway and her husband Coult, and their children Aiden, Samara, Emery, Trinity, Tatum, Cathan, Liam, Weston, Alba, Selah, and Indalyn; their mother, Joy! Storms-Hammons; sisters Roberta Valdez and Adriene Gallegos, her husband Erik Gallegos, and children Ysabela, Catalina, and Marco; aunts Pat Sedillo, Louise Morales, Pauline Morro, and Flo Valdez; uncles George Valdez (Rita) and Jim Valdez (Loy), along with MANY (literally over one hundred) cousins, including special cousins Comadre Juanita Aragon, Joann Reed, Ralph Tellez, Mike “Darwin” Briseno, and George Romero.  Special thanks to cousin Patrick Sedillo, who always stopped by to see how he could help.  Tom also leaves his lifelong friend Eddie Richardson and his pool league teammates, the TroubleMakers: Albert Arias, Zac Arias, Fernando Rodriguez, Mike Briseno, Mikey Briseno, George Romero, and the rest of his fellow league members.

The family wishes to thank Tom’s friends and family who continually visited him while he was in the hospital, especially Ralph and Amy Tellez, Eddie Richardson, Mike Briseno, George Romero, Lulu Campos, Joanne Reed, Aunt Flo, Aunt Pat, and Uncle Jim, who brought him his favorite strawberry milkshake from Sonic(s).  A special thank you to Aunt Louise, Gloria, and J.R., who drove from Texas to visit him and drove back the same day.

Tom kept his great sense of humor until the end and always had the nurses and aides smiling.  Our most sincere thanks to all those who cared for him, especially Doctors Kumar and Echevarria and all the Kymera team; nurses Suki, Marlee, Todd, Sandra, Angie, and Pacita; and all his “Bouncing Ballerinas,” as he called the aides, including Sara, Brandy, Brittany, Michelle.  A big thank you to Ruben Lopez and Joe for caring and going above and behind.  A heartfelt thank you to Martha Valdez and Jeannette Lopez for everything you have done and are doing to take care of us.

Tommy is now in the arms of the Lord and reunited with his mother and father.  He is now perfectly healed and is playing golf and shooting pool again.

A rosary will be held at 9:30 on Saturday morning, July 30th, followed by services at 10:00 at St. John’s, 506 South Lincoln Avenue, Roswell, New Mexico.

He Ain’t Heavy; He’s My Brother.