Wendell Cathey February 25, 1932 ~ December 28, 2020 (age 88)

Obituary

Funeral services for Wendell Cathey, 88, of Portales will be held at 2:00 PM, Sat., Jan. 2, 2021 at Trinity Assembly of God Church with Rev. Bob Miller officiating.  Burial will follow in the Portales Cemetery with Casey Cathey, Jordan Cathey, Bryce Cathey, C. W. Cathey, Chance Southard and Cody Steffen serving as pallbearers.  Mike Levacy, Harlin Stobb, Drew Runyan, Josh Dockter and Jerry Clemens as well as all of his many other friends will serve as honorary pallbearers.  Members of the American Legion Post 31 will render military honors.

Wendell Cathey was born Feb. 25, 1932 in Obar, NM to the home of Jessie May (Bryce) and Nolan Clovis (N.C.) Cathey and died Dec. 28, 2020 in Portales, NM.  From 1948 to Sept. 1951, he lived with Fern and Velma Guston and their daughter, Annetta Dale.  Wendell considered them family, as Fern started his career riding race horses.

In Sept. 1951, he joined the U.S. Navy and served until Nov. 1, 1954.  After leaving the Navy, he moved to Pep, NM where his parents were living and running the Pep store.  This is where he met Shirley Ann Cosper, and they were married Mar. 31, 1955.  To this union was born a daughter, Laura Dale, and a son, Mitchell Wayne “Rooster” Cathey.  The couple later divorced and on Oct. 10, 1980, in Abilene, TX he married Margaret Ann “Maggie” McArthur in the Ponderosa Dance Hall.  Through this union, he gained another son, Jerry Allen Cathey.  He and Maggie were married 35 years before her death on Feb. 17, 2016.

Wendell loved race horses, and was a former jockey, starting around the age of 14, and he rode and trained horses up until his retirement in 1997.  In addition, he also raised greyhounds, and hunted coyotes and rabbits for most of his adult life.  He dearly loved all his kids, grandkids and great-grandkids, and spent as much time as possible with them.  He taught them all to ride, to work hard and most importantly, he taught them to love and to live.

He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Laura Dale and Rick Reynolds of Portales, NM; his two sons and daughters-in-law, Mitchell “Rooster” and Rhnea Cathey of Canyon, TX and Jerry and Wendy Cathey of Dumas, TX; eleven grandchildren, Casey (Leslie) Cathey, Jordan (Bailey) Cathey, Bryce Cathey and fiance, Hailey Norvell, Breena Sotelo, Autumn Bargeron, Kia Lujan, Cody Steffen, Christopher (Miranda) Steffen, Chance Southard, Staci (Colby) Croslin and C. W. (Jacqualine) Cathey and numerous great-grandchildren; two brothers, Bob (Buna) Cathey of Pep, NM and James (Thyra) Cathey of Portales; and a sister, May Ruth (Daniel) Caddell of Portales.  He was preceded in death by both of his parents, a brother, N. C. Cathey, Jr., a grandson, Timothy Slade Southard and by his beloved Maggie.