Lucy Barnes

Lucy A. Barnes Lucy Eppes Armistead Barnes, 93, of Las Cruces and Hatch, NM passed away on Sunday. February 18, 2018, at her residence in Las Cruces, NM. She was a long-time resident of Hatch & Las Cruces, and a former teacher for the Hatch Valley Public Schools. She was born Lucy Eppes Armistead, on November 18, 1924, in Demopolis, Alabama to Sydney Earle Armistead and Vera Eppes Compton Armistead. Lucy attended elementary through high school in Demopolis. In 1947, she graduated from Huntington College in Montgomery, AL with a major in Mathematics, minors in Physical Education and Art, and acquired her Teacher's Certification. She excelled in swimming and diving, and voted Huntington's "Most Athletic" in her junior and senior years. Lucy was a member and officer in the International Honorary Art Fraternity of Kappa Pi. In 1947, she was listed as one of an elite group of college students in the publication Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges (1946-47). Following her college graduation, she returned to Huntington where she worked as a Physical Education instructor from 1947 - 1950. Lucy also pursued graduate work at Columbia University in New York. In 1950, during a visit to her brother in New Mexico, Lucy accepted a teaching position with Hatch Valley Public Schools and later obtained a Master's Degree in Education from Western New Mexico University in Silver City, NM. Over the next four decades, she taught Mathematics & Physical Education to hundreds of students in Hatch, NM for whom she became a major influence. She married fellow teacher James Q. Barnes at the First Methodist Church in Hatch, NM June 1952. They were married for 59 years until his passing in 2011. Lucy was an avid outdoors-person, excelling in both fishing and hunting. She was a dedicated member of The Order of the Eastern Star for over 60 years, holding many offices at both the local and state levels. Lucy is survived by her Las Cruces brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Donald & Kathleen Barnes; by Armistead nephews Gene Armistead, Bruce Armistead, Starkey Armistead and niece Sally Armistead Stanley; by her Barnes nephews Michael Barnes, Christopher Barnes and niece Theresa Barnes Jimenez; as well as numerous great-nephews and great-nieces. She has been an influence on all and much beloved. A religious service and celebration of Lucy's life will be held in Las Cruces on Friday afternoon, February 23rd, at 2:30 pm at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, located at 225 W. Griggs at Alameda. She will be buried beside her late husband in the family plot in Robert Lee Masonic Cemetery in Robert Lee, TX. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, a donation be made in Lucy's name to the Alzheimer's Association. Service Information
Friday, February 23, 2018 2:30pm,
St. Pauls United Methodist Church

225 W Griggs Ave
Las Cruces, New Mexico 88007