Obituary of Irma Lee Aduddell

Funeral services for Irma Lee Aduddell, 87, a longtime Lovington resident, will be held at 1:00 pm Friday, March 1, 2019 at 3rd & Central Church of Christ with David Stewart and Dan Morris officiating. Burial will follow at Lovington Cemetery. Mrs. Aduddell was born on July 18, 1931 in Odessa, TX to Leeman and Cecil Jones and passed away Wednesday, February 27, 2019 in Lovington. The family moved to Eunice, NM and then to Lovington where Leeman and Cecil had a boarding house and the men building the court house would stay there. Later, they moved to the Guadalupe Mountains where Irma Lee went to a one room school house from first through fifth grade outside of Queens, NM. She completed first and second grades in one year. That was the beginning of the hot lunch program for schools and she remembered that the mail truck from Carlsbad brought the food to cook. Leeman and Cecil moved their family to Lovington and owned a dairy west of town. Irma Lee washed the quart narrow neck milk bottles. Her black horse, Lieutenant, would meet her at the bus stop at the highway after school. She attended school in Lovington from sixth to twelfth and earned her High School diploma in Norman OK. She was captain of her basketball team at Lovington High School when women only played half-court and only played other classes at Lovington. She was also a cheerleader. Irma Lee remembered gathering iron for WWII purposes and how hard the rationing was on the family. Many of the extended family saved shoe stamps for her. Her first job was counting ration stamps for her Uncle Hob Gann who owned the only grocery store in Lovington. She met Jack Aduddell in Sunday School and married him August 30, 1956. She had worked as an election official, Mary Kay Beauty consultant, relief post office driver and tested milk for some of the Lea County dairies and also a realtor. She was active in the Church of Christ, teaching Sunday School to young married ladies classes and participated in many other ministries. Irma Lee volunteered as a Girl Scout leader for several years and also as a 4-H leader. In 1968 she was named 4-H leader of the year and was the master of ceremonies at the final banquet in Washington, D.C. She was the head of the landscaping committee and a key person in moving the first windmill to the Lea County Museum in 1972. Some of her other honors were "Sweetheart" and "Queen" of the Open Range Cowboys Assn; Realtor of the Year and recognized as an Outstanding Wildcat fan. She was an active member of the Lovington Pink Ladies when the hospital first opened, earning the 1000 hour pin. Preceding her in death were her parents: Leeman & Cecil Jones; her only brother: Keith Jones; a son: Richard Schenck and a granddaughter: Nora Lee Attaway. Surviving her is her husband: Jack Aduddell of Lovington; her children: Martha Blevins of San Angelo, TX; Richard Schenck's wife, Carol of Lovington, Rowdy and wife Deb Schenck of Carlsbad, NM; Laura "Lolly" Emig of Hobbs, NM and Dean and wife Angie Aduddell of Lovington plus eight grandchildren: Marie Linder, Effie Nichols, Julie Sueltenfuss, Michael Schenck, Miranda Schenck, Misty Johnson, Karlee Lopez and Will Emig; Also eleven great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren. Irma Lee always reminded people that "Love is energy that extends, nourishes and protects." Visitation will be held on Friday, March 1st from 11:00 until service time at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to: NM Christian Children's Home, 1356 NM 236, Portales, NM 88130-9411. Condolences may be sent to www.kirbysmithrogers.com