Clarence Edward Budd, Jr.: Santa Fe Firearm, U.S. Army RR Engineer and Greyhound Driver.
Clarence was born January 20, 1932, in Raton; the son of Clarence Edward Budd, Sr. (1904-1984) and Sarah Ann Dale (1909-1997) who were both born in Colfax County when New Mexico was a territory and married in Raton in 1931. Budd was an 11th American generation Budd as his immigrant ancestor John Budd came to America in 1637. His grandparents John and Josephine Budd Homesteaded on Johnson Mesa in 1900. His mother’s father and grandfathers who were railroad engineers came to New Mexico in 1883 from Canada and homesteaded in Frisco Canyon “up the Sugarite” in Colorado.
Budd grew up on Johnson and Barilla Mesas, riding horseback to the Center School on Johnson Mesa where Lena Balzano was his teacher, and skiing to school in Colorado from their ranch on Barilla Mesa. He remembered when he was about 10 driving cattle down from Barilla Mesa to winter pasture near the Barilla Railroad Station in Colorado. He and his sister Marilyn rode horses from the top of Barilla to Hwy 72 to catch the bus to go to school in Raton. After a bad spring blizzard on Barilla, the Budd family moved to Raton in 1947 to a home on Cedar Street. Budd’s first paying jobs were delivering the Raton Range and as a delivery boy for Lackey Chevrolet while he was in high school. He graduated from Raton High in 1951 where he was a member of the Future Farmers of America.
When Budd finished high school, he became a fireman for the Santa Fe railroad. he was drafted into the United States Army in July of 1952, and took his basic training at Fort Eustis, VA. After being assigned to Company C of the 724th Transportation and Railroad Squadron and from Norfolk, VA, he was sent to Korea where he was an engineer on the Korean railroad from February 1, 1953, to May 4, 1954. For his military service Budd received the Korean Service Medal with 2 bronze stars, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Medal, and the Good Conduct Medal.
On November 10, 2001, Budd was invited by Colorado U.S. Congressman Scott McInnis to an awards ceremony for the 50th Anniversary Korean War Medals presentation to the Colorado Korean veterans by President Kim Dae-Jung, President of the Republic of Korea. As one who served during the period of June 25, 1950, through November 11, 1953, Budd was awarded the Korean War Service Medal by the Korean Government. He proudly flew the American flag and voted Republican, just like his father.
After his discharge in June 1954, he served for 8 years in the US Army Reserves and returned to work for the Santa Fe railroad. Budd attended Pueblo Junior College majoring in diesel engineering and received his Associate Degree in 1956.
In 1958 Budd went to Dallas and enrolled in the Greyhound Corporation’s school for bus drivers. He drove for Greyhound for 32 years receiving many perfect driving records. His last assignment was Denver to Albuquerque’s regular schedule for many years. he retired in 1990 and drove for Douglas County School for two years. he also drove trucks over the years during breaks in his regular schedules; among them Western Timber hauling logs, Wells Cargo hauling coal from the York Canyon Mine, Jones Construction on the new I-25 south of Raton, and Keeps Trucking Co.’s route to California.
Clarence met Lily Wright, a teacher at Springer High School, at the Maxwell gym after a basketball game. They were married in Raton on September 11, 1959, at the First Baptist Church. The Budds lived in Raton, then in Amarillo, followed by a year in Raton before moving to Franktown, Colorado, where Budd and his father built their home. This was where the budds lived for 36 years before selling their home in 2004 and moving back to Raton to live in Carisbrook.
Budd loved to drive, behind the throttle of a locomotive as well as behind the wheel of a truck, bus or car. he and Lily visited every state in the nation as well as most of the Canadian provinces. In 2002 the Budds traveled 10,000 miles and spent 2 months in Alaska, flew over the Arctic Circle, and panned for gold in Nome. The Budds began traveling with their sons. After the boys left home, they continued together in a search into family history with an interest in genealogy. This culminated in a book about the 400-year history of the Budd family written by Lily now housed in many libraries across America and the Library of Congress.
As it was at the Budd home in Colorado, Budd loved working outside and was meticulous at landscaping. Driving took him off the ranch but never took the ranch out of him. He loved driving his Ford F-250 Power Stroke Diesel and his Kubota tractor. He was a Ford man and his first was a 1954 Ford purchased after he returned from Korea.
Budd was a lifetime member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks. He joined Raton’s BPOE Lodge #865 in 1956.
Through the ancestor of the Budd family, Budd belonged to the National Society Sons of the American Revolution and the National Society Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims. Budd had a long family association with the military. His ancestors were in the Colonial Wars of the 1650s, the French and Indian War in the 1750s, the American Revolution in 1776, the War of 1812, on both sides of the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, and World War I. It seemed to be the Budd heritage that meant that he would serve in Korea.
The Budds decided to be buried together in the Santa Fe National Cemetery. They requested there be no Raton services and all memorials go to the Fairmont Cemetery Association in appreciation for the care taken of 5 generations of Budd’s family.
Budd Died on December 11, 2023, at home. His wife Lily dies September 17, 2016
Survived by:
Sons: Jeffrey (Connie) of Castle Rock, CO, Jay Scott of Franktown, CO, Jon Cooper(Allison) of Dove Canyon, CA, Joey Edward of Raton.
Grandsons: Jay’s son Devin who lives in Utah and Jon’s sons Jon II and Eric who live in California
Nephew: Jerry (Jeanne) Iuppa of Trinidad
5 grand nieces: Courtney, Candice, Colleen, Allison and Lauren
