Anthony Hephner
( December 02, 1958 – November 18, 2022 )
Anthony Hephner passed away peacefully at home on November 18, 2022, surrounded by his family and all of their love.
Anthony was born in Raton, New Mexico on December 2, 1958, to Frances and Mary (Perkins) Hephner.
He was raised on the family ranch in Gladstone, NM doing the work of any child living way out in the country. Farming, breaking horses, but mostly working cattle. He started school in Farley, NM, but it closed soon after, so Anthony completed his education and graduated from Springer High School in 1977.
After high school he worked for a meat processing company in Pampa, TX, and then moved to Dalhart, TX to work in the feedlot there, processing thousands of head of cattle a week. After that he moved closer to home and went to work in Clayton, NM driving a gas truck. Then he joined his brother John Hephner in his portable welding business at Gladstone. They had an excellent reputation for building any ranch structure made of metal. Many of the larger, quality sets of metal pens you see in Northeast New Mexico were built by Anthony and John in the 1980s. All the while he was saving his money so that he could start his own herd of cattle.
Anthony married Cathie Atwater in November of 1982 and they were able to laugh and cry together for forty years- mostly laugh. Eventually, they were able to buy some land and move to the ranch house in the Gladstone area. They stocked cattle and together had three children over the next 10 years. After his father died, they were able to buy the Hephner Homestead from his four older sisters. Anthony, Cathie, and the kids eventually moved there. The Hephner family is among only a few homestead families left in the Gladstone area.
It seems that people casually throw around the term “Cowboy” when someone with a hat on passes by. But Anthony was the very real Cowboy deal. But maybe even more so he was a cattleman with keen instinctive skills in producing and raising quality Angus beef cattle. It also helped that his parents taught him how to be an excellent manager and a savvy businessman. He loved his wife and children and his extended family most of all, but his second love was the land, the business of ranching, and cattle. He took extra good care of his cattle. Actually, the first mother cow he ever had was nearly 25 years old when she finally died.
He was witty and always pretty much the life of any party, everyone laughed and had a good time when he was around. He was very competitive and loved to play poker, any board game, and throw horseshoes. Anthony could name almost any old football, basketball, baseball player, or boxer along with their stats. He loved sports. He enjoyed TV programs about nature and animals, ancient history, and US history along with old country music and classic rock n’ roll.
Anthony was predeceased by his son Mackenzie in 1994 and also by his son Matthew in August of 2022 along with his parents. He is survived by his wife of the family home and his daughter Hope Hephner of Amarillo TX., his beloved grandchildren MacKenzie and Conner Ebell, and Grace Hephner. He is also survived by all of his older siblings, sister Ann Woolley of Amarillo, TX, Jean McConnell of Bosque Farms, NM, Effie Walker along with sister Pat Podzemny and her husband Gene all of Clayton, NM, and his older brother John Hephner of Gladstone, NM. He’s also survived by many nieces and nephews with whom he always had a close relationship, along with all of their children. The whole family deeply feels his loss and is so brokenhearted. It’s just hard to believe that such a good and a decent person could die at such a young age. We all love you, Anthony.
Services are scheduled for Wednesday, December 21, 2022, at the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Springer, NM. The Recitation of the Most Holy Rosary, led by Connie Chavez will be at 10:00 am with The Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 am with Fr. Trieu and Fr. John Brasher as Celebrants. Inurnment will take place at the Springer Cemetery.
Everyone is welcome to join up Immediately afterward for a luncheon which will be provided by the St Joseph’s Alter Society at the Parish Hall in Springer.
Arrangements for Anthony Hephner are under the direction of the Alderette-Pomeroy Funeral Home.
