Charles Glover

Charles Ray Glover

October 4, 1939 – May 29, 2025

Charles Ray Glover left this earth for heaven on Thursday, May 29—in the same way he did everything: Gently. Known for his calm, kind, and consistent nature, his lightning-fast wit (that remained until the very end), and his deep love for family, Charles was born on October 4, 1939, in Mountainair, NM, to Oral (Bud) and Dorothy Glover. He spent his earliest days living in tents along rugged countrysides as he and Dorothy accompanied Bud on road-building jobs across the state of New Mexico.

Charles married his life-long sweetheart Judy Stearns Glover on December 23, 1967, in Carrizozo, NM—kicking off a nearly 58-year marriage that anyone watching knows was built on the truest, gentlest, reciprocal love few witness in their lifetimes. Charles and Judy were blessed with two daughters, Vickie Rae (1973) and Rhonda Kay (1974), when they lived briefly in the panhandle of Texas while Charles worked as a Research Agronomist/Plant Breeder for Taylor-Evans Seed Company. Anxious to get back to their native New Mexico, Charles and Judy returned to Las Cruces when the girls were preschoolers and have lived happily in the Mesilla Valley ever since.

Charles studied Agronomy at New Mexico State University, earning his Bachelor’s degree in 1963. As an undergrad, he was very involved in the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity where he served as chapter president and was once named Greek Man of the Year. After earning his bachelor’s, Charles went on to earn his Master’s in Plant Breeding from NMSU and, finally, his PhD in Plant Breeding and Genetics from Oklahoma State University in 1971. His mother Dorothy joked that he might go to school so long he’d just move right into Social Security. Always humble and laid-back, some of his nieces and nephews didn’t even realize he was a “doctor” until the turn of the millennium, which is when they christened him “Doctor Uncle Charlie”—later shortened to DUC.

Always athletic, Charles enjoyed playing and watching most sports, excelling in baseball and football as a youth, testing his skills on the backs of bulls as a young man, leading his church softball team as an adult, and watching anything that involved “at least one person and a ball,” as Judy fondly recalls. Competitive off the field as well, Charles was good at every game he ever played—loving to play 42, Up the River Down the River, Put ‘em in the Box, and Spades, which he and Rhonda would play for hours even though she never once won. He loved fishing and camping, helping his kids and then his grandson raise, train, and show steers and sheep, and “rearranging fences” on his property in Dona Ana.

Spending most of his career at NMSU, Charles acted as State Extension Agronomist for Cooperative Extension Services, taught golf majors about “turfgrass management,” and led the New Mexico Crop Improvement Association. He served as the state cotton specialist of New Mexico and contributed to the development of hybrid chile varieties for local farmers. Charles was awarded “Outstanding Livestock Superintendent” for the Southern New Mexico State Fair and had the honor of being chosen as the 1998 Man of the Year by the Mesilla Valley Cowbelles. He was always proud to say he “never had to sit behind a desk” throughout his professional life, traveling all over the state of New Mexico for work. This allowed him to regularly pop in on his mother in Roswell and his father-in-law, Johnson Stearns, in Carrizozo, where he joined Johnson’s weekly poker game as the “young’un” of the bunch.

Charles proudly welcomed three grandsons in 2002, 2004, and 2006—Vickie’s son Denton and Rhonda’s two sons, Sam and Luke. Watching him dote on his boys was the highlight of his wife and daughters’ lives. He played the role of “Gaga” with the same gentle ease he displayed in every aspect of his life. As is the Glover way, his Gaga moniker expanded to “Goggles” and “Double-Gah” over the years.

A devoted Christian—and a true example of Jesus’ hands and feet—Charles was always actively involved in his church, from the time a small group of believers met in a living room, then—as their congregation grew—a Seventh Day Adventist facility as it was free on Sundays, followed by their own church building of Northminster Presbyterian. He continued to serve and lead in the church when it transitioned to Sonoma Springs Covenant Church in the 2010s. His church family was always precious to him, and he and Judy have enjoyed many wonderful decades of Bible studies, game nights, progressive dinners, laughs, prayers, and community with a beautiful set of friends.

Charles is survived by his wife Judy, his daughter Rhonda, her husband Jason and two sons, Sam and Luke, his grandson Denton, his sister Delpha (Tommy) and her family, his brother Frank (Donna) and his family, his sisters-in-law Linda (Hoot) and Sue (Bob) and their families, and a slew of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Bud and Dorothy Glover, his brother-in-law Bob Stearns, and his daughter, Vickie Rae, who we know welcomed him to heaven with open arms and a squeal of excitement she couldn’t contain.

A memorial service will take place at Sonoma Springs Covenant Church at 3 p.m. on Sunday, June 8. The service can also be viewed via livestream at: https://sonomaspringscovenantchu.subspla.sh/y5xxmjt (Note: The link will not be active until 2:45 p.m. on June 8.) In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in his memory to the charity of your choice.