Memorial services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday, June 6, at First Methodist Church for Bobbie Beth (Ballard) Menefee.

Menefee, 89, passed away peacefully Friday, May 31, 2024.

She was born Oct. 13, 1934, in Knox City, Texas, the only child of Robert Hollis and Frances (Havens) Ballard.

As an infant, Bobbie lived in Rochester, Texas, and later moved to Spur, Texas, in her youth. In 1947, at the age of 9, she moved with her parents to Hagerman, where she lived until graduating high school.

Following her graduation, she moved to White’s City with her parents, where she had the opportunity to learn bookkeeping and operate business machines.

On June 27, 1954, she married Wesley Menefee at the First Baptist Church in Hagerman. They soon moved to Las Cruces for Wesley to complete his degree in animal husbandry.

Beth served as the head bookkeeper at New Mexico A&M (now New Mexico State University) for three years while Wesley finished his degree. She then served as the bookkeeper for the Roswell Country Club while Wesley went through basic training.

Wesley was soon stationed in Augsburg, Germany, and Bobbie Beth spent 10 days aboard the ship “Berlin” to join him in Germany. They got to experience living in German economy for a year together.

After returning from Germany, Wesley and Beth returned to Dexter, where they started farming and had Dwight Wesley and Paula Gail. They later relocated to the Cottonwood area to farm, where Ross Wade was born. Beth worked as a homemaker and bookkeeper for their farming operation.

When Dwight, Paula and Ross went to school in Artesia, Beth served as the leader for Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4-H, Story League and Rainbow for Girls. She was a member of the Epsilon Sigma Alpha and Beta Sigma Phi sororities and Community Bible Study and served for many years in PEO Chapter J.

She and her family attended First Methodist Church in Artesia, where she later served as a bookkeeper and secretary for five years.

Beth spent many years enjoying gardening, sewing, scrapbooking, bowling, Bible study, playing 42, traveling, camping, studying genealogy, and putting together puzzles. Wesley and Beth also enjoyed eating at La Fonda every Friday night with the Conklins and Mayberrys before attending Bulldog football games.

Beth spent her life building her family and will be missed by her husband of 70 years, Wesley. She is also survived by son Dwight and wife Terri of Cottonwood, daughter Paula and husband Mike Nuanes of Rio Rancho, and son Ross and fiancee Lisa Anglin-Burris of Cottonwood. Her legacy will continue to live on in her grandchildren, Seth Dwight Menefee and wife Johnna of Cottonwood, Owen Wesley Densford of Orange County, Calif., Tad Hollis Menefee of Cottonwood, Joy Treva Hendrix and husband Cody of Cottonwood, Logan Rae Menefee and fiance Tucker Smothermon of Lubbock, Texas, and Kandace Lea Menefee of Lubbock, as well as her great-grandsons Haven McCoy Hendrix, Harvey Chisum Hendrix and Rush Everett Menefee, all of Cottonwood. Additional survivors include sisters-in-law Sharla Hamilton and husband Don, and Linda Kay Jones and husband Barry, as well as a host of Ballard and Havens cousins in West Texas.

Wesley has always said, “They took the girl out of Texas, but they could never take Texas out of the girl,” but Beth always loved New Mexico, especially the mountains, the skies, and the family she built along the way.

The family suggests that memorial contributions be made to First Methodist Church of Artesia, 500 W. Grand Ave., Artesia, N.M., 88210, www.fmcartesia. com/give; PEO Chapter J, 8395 Cherokee Rd., Lake Arthur, N.M., 88253; or the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 4550 Montgomery Ave., Ste. 1100 N, Bethesda, MD, 20814, www.cff. org/donate.

Arrangements are under the direction of Terpening & Son Mortuary. Condolences may be expressed online at www.artesiafunerals. com.