FUNERAL SERVICES AND MEMORIALS
LARRY ABNEY
Larry Abney, 75, a longtime resident of the Las Vegas area, passed away September 24 in Las Cruces, NM. He was born June 13, 1945, in Taft, CA to the late V.L. “Pete” and Jane Kurtz Abney. He attended Taft Union High School and Taft College before coming to Las Vegas in 1964 to attend New Mexico Highlands University, where he fell in love with the people, food, culture, and history of Northern New Mexico. At NMHU, he was a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, and met the love of his life, Beth, whom he married in July 1966 before being drafted. He served as a military policeman at Fort Ord, CA, and with the Highway Platoon, Company B, 504th Military Police Battalion, from April 1967 to April 1968. He was proud to do his duty.
He graduated from NMHU with a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism in 1969 and a Master’s Degree in History in 1973. He retired in 1998 from the New Mexico Behavioral Institute after 25 years as a clinical social worker and staff trainer, where he was known for his excellent clinical skills and his passionate and reasoned protection of patient rights. He was also an extremely effective union steward for the local chapter of AFSCME.
He was a voracious reader of history, politics and literature, reading and rereading the works of Solzhenitsyn, Orwell, Eliot, Housman, and Tennyson. He loved guns, good pocketknives, riding old motorcycles, and Irish whiskey, and he and Beth enjoyed the gambling and shows of Las Vegas, Nevada.
He was a good son-in-law, husband, neighbor, and friend. He drove all over New Mexico to follow the activities of his sons and granddaughters. He pushed all of them to attend and complete college, paying for it from his pocket. He always told people he was blessed with his wife and family.
He was preceded in death by his parents, and by his sister, Debra Cunningham. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Beth Holbrook Bailey Abney; his sons Robert (Alicia) of Los Lunas and Matthew (Karen) of Las Cruces; his granddaughters Noela Elizabeth of Santa Fe, Kaley Adelina Garcia (Josh) of Albuquerque, Alyssa Christina of Denver, and Sarah Isabel Beth of Sacramento, CA.; great-granddaughter Camila Garcia; brothers Joe L. Abney (Paula) of Edmond, OK, and Raymond P. Abney (Carolyn) of Paso Robles, CA; brother-in-law Terry Cunningham of Bakersfield, CA; and nieces Lisa Luna and daughter Bella of Salem, OR, Jennifer Acevedo and sons Grant and Ryan of San Luis Obispo, CA, and Dr. Lisa Abney (Doug Hollingsworth) of Natchitoches, LA.
A memorial service will be held at a later time in Las Vegas. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you raise a beer or a shot of Jameson to Larry, followed by a donation in his name to Joy Junction or St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.