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| Remembering Joe Skeen |
December 08, 2003 |
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...New Mexicans will never forget our Joe Skeen.
Here are some facts about New Mexico`s Statesman:
1. Elected as a Write-In candidate to Congress in 1980. (Third in history to the U.S. House. Only 4 Members have been elected as write-ins in the history of the Congress.)
2. Longest-serving member from NM to the U.S. House of Representatives. (22 years)
3.  Skeen lost two of the closest gubernatorial races the state has ever seen: 1974 vs. Jerry Apodaca and 1978 vs. Bruce King. Both losses by less than one percent of the total vote
4. Skeen`s seniority built up by his long tenure in the House accounted for his ranking by Roll Call Magazine in 2000 as one of the "10 most powerful Members in the 435-member US House of Representatives."
 "All who knew him in the House of Representatives enjoyed his company and were blessed to serve beside him. He`ll be deeply missed."
--Congresswoman Heather Wilson
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5. Skeen was the first NM house member to serve on the House Appropriations Committee and later served as Chairman of two of the most powerful subcommittees of that panel that affects NM: Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman (1995-2001) and Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman (2001-2003).
Joe Skeen Memorial ServiceRoswell, NM
Thursday, December 11
2:00pm
Grace Community Church
935 W. Mescalero
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6. Skeen was influential in the sponsorship, support and passage of WIPP in NM.
7. Skeen was a primary sponsor of many legislative projects benefiting New Mexico State University, New Mexico Tech, Holloman Air Force Base and White Sands Missile Range.
8. New Mexico Tech named their Library after Joe Skeen. Skeen played a prominent role in advancing their research programs in Congress.
9. New Mexico State University named their new Agriculture Research Building after Joe and Mary Skeen. Skeen`s agricultural leadership nationally was a helpful tool for NMSU`s expansion in Agricultural R&D; programs during his tenure in Congress.
10. Chaves County named their new administrative building after Joe Skeen.
11. The State of New Mexico has named Highway 70 the “Joe Skeen Highway”.
12. Skeen was a strong supporter of rural New Mexico and all its requirements: Roads, schools, medical care, electricity, and water and sewage treatment plants.
13. Skeen was impartial when it came to serving the people. He served them all. His offices in New Mexico provided critical assistance for those people who needed help with Social Security, Veterans` medical care programs, immigration assistance and a host of other government programs and services. Joe fulfilled his ombudsman role eagerly and efficiently with the help of his capable and effective staffs in Washington, Roswell and Las Cruces.
14. Skeen was a tremendously respected individual. His friendly demeanor and quiet sense of humor seemed to disarm those folks with grudges and helped all citizens realize that by working together we can solve people`s problems. Skeen used to say, "Let`s talk about what we can agree on, and work from there."
15. When working as a staffer, it was great to work for "Joe".
 His friends and associates knew him as "Joe". To the professional staffers in Congress, he was "Mr. Skeen" or “Mr. Chairman”. But Joe didn`t let that go to his head. On many occasions he said: "Mr. Skeen`s my dad. I`m Joe. Call me Joe from now on."
He is survived by his wife, the former Mary Helen Jones of Picacho and Roswell; a daughter, Elisa Livingston of Albuquerque; a son, Mickell Lee Skeen of the family ranch in Picacho; a daughter-in-law, Gail Edwards Skeen of Picacho; three grandsons; Ross Livingston of Albuquerque; and Clint and Tyler Skeen of the family ranch.
A memorial service will be held at 2 PM Thursday in Grace Community Church, 935 W. Mescalero in Roswell. A reception will follow at the Roswell Civic Center, 912 N. Main.
In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations in Congressman Joe Skeen`s name to the charity of your choice, or to one of the nationally-recognized foundations working on finding a cure for Parkinson`s Disease.
The National Parkinson Foundation, Inc.
Parkinson`s Disease Foundation
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson`s Research
If you wish to express your condolences to the family, you can send an e-mail to Rep. Heather Wilson`s office.
Please write "Remembering Joe Skeen" in the subject line. Rep. Wilson`s office will forward your words of encouragement and prayer to Congressman Skeen`s family. |
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