Obituary of Charles Eugene Spears

Charles Eugene "Cotton" Spears September 15, 1929 - January 21, 2016 Funeral services for Charles Eugene “Cotton” Spears, 86, of Lovington, NM will be held on Wednesday, January 27, 2016 at 1:30 pm at First United Methodist Church with Matt Bridges officiating. Burial will follow at Resthaven Cemetery. Arrangements are under the direction of Kirby-Smith-Rogers Funeral Home. Mr. Spears was born on September 15, 1929 in Cherokee County, Texas to Alfred and Mayola (Knox) Spears and passed away on January 21, 2016 in Midland, TX. Cotton came to New Mexico in the late 50’s and in 1960 he married Beverly Mahoney on May 7th in Lovington. They shared 55 years of life and love. Cotton was a longtime employee of Kerr-McGee Potash Mine at Carlsbad and held several different positions over 25 consecutive years of service and come rain, shine or snow, he never missed a day’s work. He served his country in the United States Air Force during the Korean War and was very proud of his military service and was the recipient of several medals. Cotton enjoyed yard work and did his own right up to the end. He also enjoyed fishing. He was a huge supporter of the Lovington Wildcats and an AVID fan of the UT Longhorns and a former fan of the Dallas Cowboys. He loved to read, especially anything about military history and was an excellent storyteller. He would share stories of his childhood and growing up years and everyone was spellbound by his gift of storytelling. Cotton also loved his pet cats. His greatest joy was family gatherings, getting together and just visiting, eating and storytelling. He was preceded in death by his parents, one son: Michael Spears and three siblings: Travis, Reginald and Doris Nell. Surviving him is his wife, Beverly of Lovington; one grandson: Garland Clay Spears of Tucson, AZ; his in-laws: Barbara and husband E. J. Nichols of Tyler, TX; Mark and wife Kaye Kennedy of Lovington; and Bruce and wife Doris Kennedy of Ruidoso, NM; and numerous nieces and nephews. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, January 26, 2016 from 10:00 am until 8:00 pm with the family in residence from 6:00-7:00pm at the funeral home.