Peggy York

Peggy York, longtime rancher of Fort Sumner, New Mexico, passed away July 28, 2012, in Lubbock, Texas, following a stroke. Mrs. York was born Thelma Juaeise Burt on March 28, 1922, in Snyder, Texas, to Grady Burt and Velma (Brown) Burt. She was so small when she was born, at home, that a neighbor kept her warm in a shoebox near the oven. She worked for a gas company in Snyder and went to cosmetology school in Dallas. During her first marriage to a pilot who was killed in World War II, she lived in upstate New York, Birmingham, Ala., Virginia Beach, VA and Charleston, S.C. Following her return to Snyder, she was re-married to a rancher from Gail, Texas, H.C. "Buster" York on July 6, 1947. As newlyweds, they lived in Colorado for several months on a ranch owned by Buster’s father, Jim York. When that ranch was sold, they returned to Gail and leased the Johnson Ranch for three years before screwworms and drought forced them to move farther west in the early 1950s. They purchased a ranch in east-central New Mexico, near Lake Sumner in October of 1952 where they ran mostly yearlings and some sheep until Buster died in 1973. She then raised cow-calves on part of the ranch and leased the rest of the place. She lived on the ranch independently up until her death. She dearly loved her family and her animals and will be greatly missed.Mrs. York was preceded in death by her husband, H.C. “Buster" York, and her brother, Jim Burt of Big Springs, Texas. Survivors include her son, Ralph Wayne York and wife Rita, and grandchildren Guy Wayne York and Randa Lynn York, all of Fort Sumner.She is also survived by a daughter Jane Rash and husband Billy of Willis, Texas; granddaughters Sharla Ishmael and husband Wes of Benbrook, Texas and Carrie Mason and husband Kelton of Montgomery, Texas; and four great-grandchildren, Josie and Brooks Ishmael and Kaden and Kamlynn Mason.Graveside services will be held Wednesday August 1, 2012 at 2:00 PM C.S.T. in the Gail Cemetery, Gail, Texas with Mr. Bruce Stovall officiating.All arrangements are under the direction of Chavez Funeral Home, 830 N. Fifth Street, Fort Sumner, NM. (575) 355-2311. To place an online tribute or sign the guest book visit www.chavezfuneralhome.com