Hugh Puckett

Hugh Wiley Puckett, 96, of Roswell, passed away Thursday, January 16, 2015 after a brief illness. He was born July 11, 1918 in Englewood, NJ to Hugh Wiley and Mary Dimmit Puckett.

The Puckett family home was in Leonia, NJ and he began his education there at Leonia Grammar School, followed by Horace Mann School. His formal schooling was expanded by two extended trips to Europe taken with his family. Once back home, he attended Horace Mann School for Boys, graduating in 1936.

Hugh later attended Columbia and Oberlin colleges. From Columbia he obtained a BS in Geology in 1942. At Oberlin he met Mary Reid, whom he married on June 19, 1943 in her hometown of Whitestone, NY.

Hugh's career as a geologist heavily impacted his early adult years. He was employed by the US Coast and Geodetic Survey from the spring of 1942 through the fall of 1943, working on both the east and west coasts as well as in New Mexico and Texas. In late 1943, he and Mary settled in Midland, TX, where he worked for The Superior Oil Company and later The Lion Oil Company. A transfer by Lion Oil brought the couple to Roswell in the summer of 1952. From 1955 to 1962 he served as a geologist for independent oilman, John H. Trigg. He also briefly sold cars and worked for Curtis Hardware. From the summer of 1964 until October 1982, Hugh worked for the State of New Mexico, the last 16 of those years in the Roswell office of the NM State Engineer as a geohydrologist.

A dedicated family man, Hugh was married to Mary more than 71 years and with her raised six children: Peggy, Mike, Steve, Katy, Alan and Susan. Together with his wife and older children, Hugh built a cabin at Eagle Creek in the Lincoln National Forest. For decades, family vacations and weekends were spent enjoying the cabin and the woods around it.

Hugh was passionate about cars from the time he was a young child. Later in life he dated his memories by the car that was around or involved in the story. Not surprisingly, he became an antique car buff, owning several (in various states of restoration) and spending lots of his free time rebuilding them, driving them, attending old car meets, visiting with others who shared his enthusiasm, and reading old car publications.

Hugh was a charter member of Westminster Presbyterian Church, where he worshiped and served from 1961 until the present. He was also a member of Kiwanis Club of Roswell from 1986 to the present, and relished each year he was a top sales person for the annual Kiwanis pancake breakfast.

Hugh is survived by his wife, Mary, of La Villa in Roswell; his children Mike (and Veronica) of Roswell, NM Peggy (and Randy) Ford of Tucson, AZ, Steve (and Mary) of Cullowhee, NC, Katy (and Bill Sitton) of Chicago, IL Alan of Seattle, WA, and Sue (and John) Teumer of Loveland, CO; ten grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Mary Beth Martin, and an infant child, Clifford.

A memorial service will be held Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. at Westminster Presbyterian Church with the Rev. Bob Williams officiating.

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