Larry Hill

Larry Wayne “Buddy” Hill, 73, passed away surrounded by his wife and children Nov. 27, 2021 in Odessa, Tx, after a courageous fight against Covid.

Buddy was born June 12, 1948 in Waldron, Ark., to Alvin “A.C.” Hill and Edith Helen (Powell) Hill. He spent many of his formative years in Booneville, Ark., with his beloved Aunt Susie Harding.

The family lived at Portales, N.M.  Buddy was one of four sons. The family was very poor for many years and moved around the area share-cropping. As Buddy would say the family moved “every time the rent came due.”

During these years Buddy would have to milk as many as 12 goats every morning and evening, leading him to develop such strong hand muscles he could crack a walnut between his thumb and first finger joint and crush an unopened steel beer can.

Later, A.C. ran the ICX Freight contract for Portales. Buddy also worked for Borden Peanuts and Eastern New Mexico University from 1969 to 1977. He was also a contracted government trapper and learned the ways of trapping from old timers like P.T. Crume and Barney McCabe. He was a 1966 graduate of Portales High School.

In 1969 he married Meloy Elane Simpson, daughter of Melvin and Evelyn Simpson of Portales. For their honeymoon Buddy took Meloy to Las Vegas … New Mexico.

In 1977 Buddy and Meloy moved to Kermit, Texas, where they spent a few short months before Buddy took a job with Carter Foundation Oil Company in Jal and moved to the company’s camp northeast of Jal.

There they began their family, raising two sons – Levi and Josh – and eventually raising their nephew Tyrel Arington as a son.

Buddy enjoyed breeding racing pigeons and during this time won several area races with his birds.

Buddy went on to work for the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division District 1 office, spending his last four years as the district supervisor until his retirement in 2010.

Buddy was a Jack-of-all-trades. He would say he “had done so much for so long with so little he was qualified to do anything with nothing.”

Buddy was an avid outdoorsman and trapper and loved nothing more than to be in the woods and fields among the wild animals.

Buddy is survived by his wife Meloy and his sons Levi, Josh and wife Sheila, and Tyrel. He is also survived by his brothers Terry “Buck” Hill and wife Haide, of Jal, N.M., Lonnie Hill and wife Vernette of Big Spring, Tx, and Ronnie Hill of Corpus Christi, Tx.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Dec. 4 in Jal at the Church of Christ. A meal with the family will be held in the church fellowship hall at 11:30 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to: Amazing Grace Pet Rescue, 4008 N Grimes #55, Hobbs, N.M. 88240.