Mary Lynn Moncus (July 23, 1934—June 23, 2014) A funeral service is scheduled for Friday, June 27, 2014 at 10:30 AM in the Dunn Memorial Chapel for Lynn Moncus, who died at home Monday evening, June 23, 2014 in the company of good friends and her loyal canine. A brief graveside service will follow. Lynn was born in Clovis, NM on July 23, 1934 to Sara Clough Moncus and Claude Moncus. After the then-minimum two-week requisite stay at Dr. Lancaster’s clinic in Clovis, she was at home at the family homestead overlooking Moncus Canyon near Ima, New Mexico. As the daughter of Sheriff Claude Moncus, she was also privileged to be part of the last sheriff’s family to occupy the old Quay County Courthouse and the first to occupy the new one. Lynn is preceded in death by her parents; her older brother, Clough; her dear friend and mentor, Dr. Marion Payzant Hardman; her favorite cousin, Loretta (Tink) Nixon; and by Tink s sister, Joan Gholson. She is survived by Tinks son, Mark Nixon of Phoenix, AZ; her cousins, Jeff Ward of Nara Visa, NM; Sandra Alford of Corona, NM; and Loretta Twisselman of Paso Robles, CA, as well other relatives. She is also survived by a very large and devoted family of friends. From an early age Lynn knew exactly what she wanted to be when she grew up--a teacher. She pursued that goal with characteristic tenacity. In 1952 she graduated from Tucumcari High School, and by 1955, she was teaching her first classes at Forrest, NM having earned a Bachelors degree in English in three short years from what was then New Mexico Agriculture and Mechanical Arts College in Las Cruces. After one year as one of only two high school teachers in Forrest and living on campus there teaching English, Mathematics and History, she accepted a position in Tucumcari. She initially taught English at Tucumcari Junior High and later at Tucumcari High School. Following her six-year stint in Tucumcari, Lynn returned to Las Cruces to pursue an advanced degree. She eventually acquired three advanced degrees, in English and in Education from NMSU and in Guidance and Counseling from UTEP. She retired as a full professor of English from NMSU after over 20 years of university teaching. Lynn edited the 1985 Quay County Book, 1903-1985 with Marian Farmer Knapp. While a labor of love, the project would become known as The Damn Book among those dedicated volunteers who helped collect the many family stories it featured as the publishing deadline neared. In 2000, she also edited and published her grandmothers novel, Sadie Didnt Want to Go Pioneering by Laura Carter Moncus, and in 2003, she authored, Quay County New Mexico, a Pictorial History. She wrote a much loved column for the Quay County Sun, ‘Comments from the Canyons’ for many years until very recently. For many years upon her return to Tucumcari, she also hosted a weekly radio program on KTNM. Lynn was dedicated to community service. While still in Las Cruces she became involved with the Tucumcari Historical Research Institute, the organization that started the Tucumcari Historical Museum with the collection of artifacts and curiosities amassed by Lynn’s uncle, Herman (Corny) Moncus and his wife, Bernice, and originally displayed in their Elk Drug Store on Main Street. Upon her return to Tucumcari in 1989, she continued to serve on its Board of Directors until 2010. She also served on the Rattler Reunion Alumni Board, volunteered at the Chamber of Commerce and was among those responsible for founding the area’s first hospice agency, Helping Hands Hospice. Lynn was exceedingly proud of her pioneer heritage and had a deep and abiding appreciation of nature, animals, and the beauty of our New Mexico landscape, especially her beloved canyons. Dunn Funeral Home entrusted with arrangements.
Posted on: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 22:35:19 +0000
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