Vera Marie (Gardner) McCargish January 18, 1940 ~ February 23, 2023 (age 83)

Vera Marie (Gardner) McCargish waltzed into the arms of Jesus, to her eternal home, on February 23, 2023. She was born in Tucumcari, NM on January 18, 1940, the fifth child of Ivan Lee & Juanita (Sprinkles) Gardner. She was raised by Lewis & Hazel (her aunt) Davis of Rogers, NM from the time she was around two years old after her mother’s death. She attended school from first through twelfth grade in Dora, NM. After high school Vera moved to Portales, NM and attended Eastern New Mexico University for a short time. The rest of her adult life, except for a few years was lived in Portales.

Vera will be remembered by her family, church family, friends, and neighbors. Viewing is available at Wheeler Mortuary in Portales. Celebration of Life service will be held at Calvary Baptist Church, Portales NM on Saturday, March 4, 2023, at 10:00 am, this will be closed casket. Burial following at Mt Zion in Rogers, NM; then meal and family visitation time at Calvary Baptist Church in the fellowship hall.

Vera raised six children with only eight years difference between oldest and youngest.  When you saw her anywhere, she always had six “stair-stepped” children in tow. She was always willing to help with classroom parties and sometimes served as room mother throughout the grade school years of her children. She waited until her youngest child started school before working outside of the home. She began as a fill-in cook with Portales Schools and was hired full-time after the first year. Before long she became the head cook at the combined lunchroom for Steiner Elementary School and Portales Jr. High School. She enjoyed this because she could be home before her children were out of school during the school year and was home all summer with them. Her children remember her always singing and dancing around the house. She loved southern gospel and country music, the waltz being her favorite dance. She loved to laugh and had a crazy sense of humor.

During her childhood years she attended First Baptist Church in Dora, NM and accepted Christ as Savior. She was always willing to let her children attend church with friends and neighbors. However, because of life circumstances she rarely attended church until the late 1990s or early 2000s. She then started attending Calvary Baptist Church. Of course, with her background in the school cafeteria, she began volunteering with food service for various events at Calvary. It was at Calvary that she met Lloyd McCargish. They were married on September 25, 2010.

Vera is preceded in death by her son Andrew Lee Payton; son-in-law Levi Thomas Edwards; biological parents Ivan & Juanita Gardner; parents that raised her Lewis & Hazel Davis; stepmother Ruth Gardner; brothers JW Gardner, Charles Gardner; cousins raised with her much like brothers Rex Davis and Max Davis; step-sister Beth Davis; step-granddaughter Angela Tesch; step-great grandson Silas Smith; plus, numerous other relatives.

Vera is survived by her loving husband Lloyd of their home. Her bio children (Roger) & Kathy Tesch of Albuquerque NM, Lisa Edwards of Clovis NM, Dawn & (Dale) Lebow of Clovis NM, David & (Tammy) Payton of Lubbock TX, and (Alan) & Tina Zachry of Portales NM; stepchildren (Walter) & Dinkie Parman of Channing TX, (Wes) & Kay Hull of Spearman TX, Royd & (Shannon) McCargish of Albuquerque NM. Bio grandchildren Levi & (Missi) Edwards, (Matthew) & Amanda Rivers, Brian & (Jena) Berry, LaShia & (Joshua) Villalobos, Tiffany Payton & (Liborio) Baca, and Brandon Payton. Step-grandchildren Andrew Tesch, (Pete Boyd) & Shaina Zachry, Colt & (Kari) McCargish, Maegen Smith, (Chris) & Haley Morris, Chavis & (Jessica) McCargish, Matthew McCargish, Samuel McCargish, Kristen McCargish, Zane McCargish, Leah Smith, and Nathan Page. Inclusively there are twenty-eight great grandchildren. Her sister Shirley Dugan of Oklahoma and brother Leonard & (Jeannie) Gardner of Utah and stepsister Gail Naves of Utah. Plus, numerous other relatives.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Vera Marie (Gardner) McCargish, please visit our floral store.