Obituary of George William Teague

George William Teague May 09, 1926 - January 06, 2016 Memorial services for George William Teague, 89, of Lovington, NM will be held on Friday, January 22, 2016 at 2:00 pm at First Baptist Church with Bro. Harry Pittam officiating. Burial will follow at Resthaven cemetery. Arrangements are under the direction of Kirby-Smith-Rogers Funeral Home. George was born on May 9, 1926 in Sherman, Texas to George Montgomery “Monty” and Lorena (Phoebus) Teague and passed away on January 6, 2016 in Lovington. George’s father passed away before he was born and his mother later married Marion Pennell on May 23, 1929. George was a member of “The Greatest Generation” having lived through the Great Depression and serving his nation during WWII, entering the Army at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma on August 7, 1944, with the 78th Infantry, 309th Regiment, Company K. George fought in many battles during the war with the most notable being the Battle of Remagen, Germany and the capture of the Ludendorff Bridge on the Rhine River. That battle raged on from March 7th through the 25th of 1945. He was the recipient of The Purple Heart, EAMET ribbon, Army of OCC Med, two bronze SV stars, plus several more. After leaving the army in the late 1940’s, he came home to Texas and worked at different jobs until he decided on life as a lawman. He went to work as a patrolman with the Hobbs Police Department in October of 1960 and stayed with them until 1966. After leaving the HPD he moved to the Lea County Sheriff’s Department and that is where he found a home serving the people of Lea county from 1966 – 1990, serving as Sheriff twice, from 1976-1980 and again from 1986-1990. George was a working sheriff who could be found working the county roads at any time of the day or night. He would go into bar fights with his deputies and was successful at grounding drug planes as well as recovering stolen oilfield equipment and tools worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. There were times when you didn’t even know George was out and about, not until the dispatcher would call the men on patrol into the sheriff’s office in the middle of the night. Upon arrival they would learn that the sheriff was upstairs in the jail kitchen cooking up a big breakfast for his men. During the late 60’s George had a passion for racing stock cars and anyone who knew George knows that his love of driving fast never left him. He never got over his strong belief that the only way to get from point A to point B was in the least amount of time possible. He also was an avid fisherman taking time to wet a hook every chance he got. He was a member of Oddfellows Lodge, American Legion and life member of VFW. George was a good man, good lawman and a good friend; he will be greatly missed by many. He was preceded in death by his parents, step-dad, and his wife, Louise Carrie Norman Teague; his half-brother:Wilbur Pennell; and one stepdaughter: Sharon Jones. He is survived by his wife Zelma (Hilburn) WadeTeague of Lovington; one son: George Jr. and wife Laura Teague of Austin, TX; stepson: John and wife Laura Millsap of Amboy, Indiana and one stepdaughter: Pamela Lawson of California; two half-sisters: Brenda and husband Tim Dobbs of Rockwall, TX and Patsy Cain of Mesquite, TX; three grandchildren: Kellie Teague, Marty Ellis and Natasha Ellis and one great-grandaughter. Also his sister-in-law Thelma and husband Glenn Scott of Lovington and a host of friends. Condolences may be sent to www.kirbysmithrogers.com.