- Date Of Birth: January 22, 1940
- Date Of Death: November 23, 2017
- State: New Mexico
Donald “Pug” Thigpen of Roswell, NM passed away November 23rd, 2017. Pug was born January 22, 1940 to parents James and Marjorie Thigpen.
He attended Cottonwood school through 8th grade and then continued school in Artesia until he graduated in 1958. He was proud and honored to have played on the first Artesia High School State Championship football team in 1957. After graduation, he went on to serve 6 months in the Army Reserve. He began attending NMSU in the Spring of 1959 and graduated in 1963 with a degree in Agronomy. Pug was then offered a Fullbright scholarship to study in New Zealand, which he turned down to go to Graduate school at the University of Nevada, Reno. He received his Masters degree in Plant Genetics from there in 1967.
Pug leaves behind three daughters, Lyn Harrison (Jerry) of Artesia, NM; Kim Klein (Jeff) of Roswell, NM and Dawn Thigpen of Roswell, NM. Sisters Norma Lorang (Bill) of Socorro, NM; Suzi Burke (Jim) of Loveland, CO. Grandchildren T.J. Harrison (Allie) of Artesia, NM; Kacy Brown (David) of Roswell, NM; Meghan Kukla (Dan of, Sacramento, CA; Karly Durbin (Eric) of Houston, TX; Dustin Ford of Denver, CO; Tori Cockrum of Lubbock, TX and Lexi Cockrum (Kyle) of Ft. Worth, TX and 12 great grandchildren. Pug’s former wives, Penny Thigpen and Kathy Collier who both provided care and support to him when he needed it most.
