BOBBY FRANK POE March 27, 1936 – April 29, 2024
Longtime Los Alamos resident, Bobby Frank Poe (Bob), passed away at home on Monday evening, April 29, 2024. Dad struggled with heart related issues for the last number of years. He spent ten days in April at the Heart Hospital of New Mexico and came home to Hospice Care on Friday, April 26.
He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Wanda Nell (Cooke) Poe of the home; his brother Don Poe, of Grandbury, Texas; his daughter Teri Price and her husband Bobby of Kingston Springs, TN; his daughter Lori Hinojosa and her husband Hugo of Los Alamos, NM; his son Lonny Poe and his wife Deanne of Johnson City, TX. Bob and Wanda rejoiced in their extended legacy of grandkids, grand-spouses and great grandkids: Matthew Price, his wife Kourtney and their son, Noah Luke Price, his wife Taryn and their children, Mattie and Cooper Nathan Price, his wife Amanda and their children, Emma, Benton and Olivia Hannah Price Abigail Price-Lopez, her husband Christopher and their daughter Laurel Garrison Price Annie Price-Figurski, her husband Aric and their children Boone and Lucy Brooks Price Mary-Caroline Price Carli Moore, her children Bradi and Saylor Kelly Hutchins, his wife Sumer and their son, Hayden Ty Hinojosa Salim Poe Quinton Poe, his wife Makenzie and their daughters, Oakley and Addie Garith Poe and fiancé Sky Turner Laina Poe.
He was preceded in death by his parents, six siblings and a grandson.
Dad, “Discovered America” (Dad’s euphemism for birth) on March 27, 1936. He was one of seven children born to the union of Clifton F. Poe and Mary Boyd Poe in Winnsboro, Texas. He spent his childhood in and around several east Texas towns. His father was a heavy equipment operator building roads, ponds and lakes all over the area. Cliff Poe’s work relationships provided access for hunting and fishing that they all enjoyed and a natural connection to God’s Creation that lasted a lifetime. His early life was embedded in family, hard work, faith, laughter and nature. These repeated exposures forged into a consistent character that was evident all of his life.
Bob graduated from Quitman High School in 1954. He rode the bus to attend Tyler Junior College for a year before enlisting in the United States Air Force in 1955. He completed Basic Training in San Antonio, TX, followed by Air Base Defense School at Parks AFB, in Pleasanton, CA. He served as a Military Policemen in the Special Weapons Project at Manzano Air Base in Albuquerque, NM until his discharge in 1959.
Dad met our mother at a Drive-In while he was stationed in Albuquerque, he was 19 and she was 16. After meeting her he told his buddies on the way back to the base, “I better not ever date that girl…if I do, I will marry her.” They did date and married on January 18, 1958.
After his military service he delivered milk in Albuquerque and later drove a truck for a paving company. In 1959, he took a job with the University of California at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Dad’s first work at LANL was testing ballistics on the Firing Point at Phermex. However, he spent most of his 33+ years with “The Lab” at the Meson Facility where he eventually oversaw the vacuum systems on the Linear Accelerator. He retired in 1993.
In retirement, he consulted on the Super Collider project in Central Texas before it was decommissioned, he drove the activity bus and delivered meals for the Senior Center in Los Alamos and performed volunteer maintenance work at FBC Los Alamos and at White Rock Baptist Church. His retirement was characterized by service. He served his family, his community, his church and his neighbors. The home of Dad’s childhood was heavily influenced by the deep faith of his parents. His mother, Mary Poe was the first female to serve as an elder in the Presbyterian Church in Winnsboro, Texas. She was also the first woman to serve in larger role with other Presbyterian churches in the area. Bob grew up with a view of the world shaped by his parent’s faith. That family exposure became personal for dad as a young husband. During a revival in the church where mom and dad were married, dad accepted Jesus as his Savior and was baptized.
His faith joined with our mother’s to shape our home. Our parent’s modeled prayer, the daily reading of scripture, the application of scripture to daily life, faithful stewardship and consistent participation in the life of a local church. Throughout his adult life, Dad served the church in multiple capacities. He was a deacon, a Sunday School teacher, he served on committee’s and he chaired committees. Dad washed dishes, cooked meals, moved tables and set up chairs. He and mom led by example.
Bob Poe loved the outdoors. Hunting and fishing remained lifelong pursuits for as long as his body allowed. He loved to garden, raising both vegetables and flowers. Hiking and camping were regular family activities. As a young husband, he competed on a white-water rafting team and, as children entered his life, he put each of us on all manner of flotation devices to run the Rio Grande during the spring run-off. Winter snows ensured that dad would bundle us all up and take us sledding on any available hill, including some spots that horrified our mother.
Dad read voraciously. Even in his last days, he could quote a huge volume of poetry, verses he had memorized as a young man. Dad also loved music across many genres. He sang all the time. Sometimes the song was mischievous and it poked at the immediate circumstance. At other times his singing was an expression of his faith. Often, it was just the outflow of his joyful heart. On Saturdays, records spun on the turntable and music filled the house from the hi-fidelity sound system mom and dad saved to purchase.
Quick witted and observant, his humor made life joyful for our family. He loved to tease and could take similar ribbing, laughing at himself. As his family, we are so grateful that our stories are embedded in his story, in the love story of our parents and in the greater story of God’s redemptive love for all people. Our individual and collective stories of times with dad could fill volumes.
We will celebrate his life and a bit of his story with a brief committal service at Santa Fe National Cemetery, 501 N Guadalupe St., Santa Fe, NM, on Friday, May 24, 2024, at 9:30 AM. A memorial service will follow at 1:00 PM of the same day at White Rock Baptist Church, 80 La Paloma Dr., White Rock, NM 87547.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the New Mexico Baptist Children’s Home and Family Ministries, PO Box 629, Portales, NM 88130.
The family of Bobby Poe has entrusted the care of their loved one to DeVargas Funeral Home & Crematory of the beautiful Espanola Valley. www.devargasfuneral.com 505-747-7477.
