Johnnie Eloy Tafoya

Johnnie Eloy Tafoya passed away peacefully on April 15, 2025, after a long battle with lung cancer. He put up a very good fight, but God had other plans.

Memorial graveside services will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Citizens Cemetery in Clarendon.

Cremation and arrangements are by Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.

Johnnie was born in Raton, New Mexico on November 16, 1959, to Eloy and Pauline Tafoya (Hughes, Jacobs). He spent much of his life in New Mexico and Texas on farms and ranches. When he was six years old, he received a ride-on green toy tractor for Christmas. It seems he decided to become a farmer then and there. He rode that tractor day in and day out to the exclusion of other toys. He could be heard imitating the sound of a tractor all day long. He was always quite handy with tools. At age three, he loved taking objects apart with a screwdriver. One day he managed to take down a large outdoor door that had separated two rooms in the house. It was quite a shock when that door hit the floor. He was sitting on the floor maybe two to three inches by that door with a screwdriver in his hand. Nobody could figure out how he managed to take that door down. Needless to say, all tools were kept out of his reach for a while. He was always very smart and could usually figure out a way to get what he wanted. He attended schools in Farwell, Texico, Grady and Melrose.

He worked as a long-haul truck driver for many years as well as in many aspects of farmwork. He was well trained in farming, construction work, carpentry and electrical work. He was very knowledgeable about cars and was a licensed diesel mechanic. He could tell you what was wrong with a car just by listening to it run. He liked farming but he didn’t like working with cattle though, saying they were only good for nice, thick steaks on his plate. One of his favorite farming tasks was harvesting cotton. He stated on more than one occasion that he “loved” to harvest cotton, looking back and seeing a clean field behind him.

He is survived by his beloved wife Anna Gay (Leeper), sisters Jennifer Kay (Rubin) and Julia (Orlando), and a number of nieces and mostly nephews, his Uncle Ernie (Gloria), cousin Ralph, Aunt Lydia and a host of cousins on both sides of the family. He is also survived by Pati (Trent), Stacey and grandchildren that he loved dearly Addison, Zayne and Jackson. He is also survived by his dear sister-in-law Scharla (James), Bryan (Kris) and Tommy (Jackie). He had a number of friends. He has also left behind Joe Rivas, a childhood friend, Cody and Amanda, Austin, Shane and many people he thought the world of. He was also a good friend to have. Johnnie is predeceased by his parents and Rudolf in 1956 (infant brother).
Many thanks to Scharla, Cody and Amanda, Austin, Shane, and all those good people who went out of their way to help Anna Gay and Johnnie during those last difficult days.