There will be a gathering of family and friends to remember and honor the life of Ina Mae Highley, 83, of Portales between the hours of 1:00 and 3:00 PM, on Sat., Aug. 26, 2017, at her home, 309 N. Knoxville, in Portales. Please come and visit at your convenience. Those desiring to make memorial contributions may direct them to either the American Heart Association or the American Cancer Society.

Ina Mae Highley was born Mar. 13, 1934 in DesMoines, NM to the home of Jewell (Chappell) and Henry E. Gossett, and died at her home in Portales on Aug. 22, 2017. Ina Mae grew up in the Dora area from the time she was a small child until her senior year in high school. She moved to Portales before school started in 1950, and she graduated from Portales High School in 1951.

In Aug. 1972, she was married to C. J. Highley, and for the next 17 years, she helped her husband in the running of C. J.’s Pill Box in Portales. In conjunction with the store, and various meetings and conventions, she and C. J. traveled to a great many world destinations. Following their retirement in 1989, they continued to travel to numerous places in the U.S. before Mr. Highley became ill.

Ina Mae was active in the Portales Altrusa Club for a number of years. During the last several years she has helped to organize her class reunions. She was a wonderful cook. Her family looked forward to her friend chicken, French toast and stew, among other special dishes. Ina Mae was always very active, and enjoyed working in the yard right up to the day she died. She enjoyed college basketball. Ina Mae was a member of the Central Christian Church.

She is survived by a son, Jacky Welch of Portales; three daughters and a son-in-law, Gwen Welch-Cox of Sweet Home, OR, Mary Patterson of Hereford, TX and Jolene Patterson and her husband, Michael Kenny of Tucson, AZ; two grandchildren, Andrew Cox and Vera (David) Cox; and two brothers, LeRoy (Cleo) Gossett of Epharata, WA and Herbert (Frances) Gossett of Marion, OH. She was preceded in death by her parents, a brother, Forrest Gossett and by her husband, C. J., who died in Jan. 1992