David served in the armed forces. We honor that service here.
Life story
David was born on July 26, 1941, the second child of Margarita Saenz and David Preciado Telles of Bent, New Mexico. They would eventually have five (5) more children for a total of seven. So there was Chris Telles, David, Veronica (Betty) (Serna), Genevieve (Jenny)(Ortega), Raymond Telles, Joseph Telles, Regina (Reggie) Telles. David’s mother died in 1953 before his 12th
birthday. He was devastated and there were stories told that he would often be located lying down on his mother’s grave. How fitting that he now rests next to his mother which was only possible because his cousin, Tony Mendez, who owned this plot and donated it for his resting place.
David enlisted in the US Army on July 14, 1960 in Fort Ord, California and received an Honorable
Discharge on June 26, 1963 at the rank Specialist 4, E4.
David had so many women in his life. His first wife was Betty Maese with whom he had 2 children, Colleen Telles born in 1960 and Christopher Michael Telles born in 1959. Then he married Ida Diaz and had one son, David Michael Telles born in 1969 and he had another son, Jason Telles (Ruth), born in 1970. He married Kathleen Conover on December 4, 1976 and they had 2 children, Jamie Lynn (DOB: Dec 6, 1978) and William Joseph (DOB: Jan 14, 1981). When David died, the oldest child was 21 and the youngest was 10 so he never knew all of his grandchildren.
Many of David's friends and family remember him as a rascal his entire life. David’s mother would go to church at St. Francis in Tularosa every day and take young David with her. He would try to take coins from the offering basket or not put his offering in at all and would get a whooping afterward and have to return to the church to give back the money. He was a religious man and read Bible books often and said his prayers morning and night. He was very close to his cousins the Mendez and Saenz who also lived in Bent. They were all poor in material things, but not in their faith or love for each other though. David’s house was an adobe hut in Bent with dirt floors and newspapers lined the walls glued with flour and paste.
Eventually, his family moved to Tularosa and then to Alamogordo. David’s first school was located in Bent (which no longer exists) across the highway from the Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church on what is now Hwy 70 East. Beyond the church on the same side of the road as the church, there is a turn off that takes you down into Bent. David’s mom would stand there at night when it was raining real hard holding a lantern so that people who lived there could see where to turn. To this day, the road is a tight turn and hard to see.
David loved his family and made a point to stay in touch with everyone. He did live for a few years in the San Francisco Bay Area and also in Torrance, California where his older brother, Chris, lived as well. He worked construction in California and then in Alamogordo, he worked for Presto Manufacturing as a forklift operator. He was a jokester and loved to stir up trouble in a fun way. He loved driving around to see his friends and family and have a drink with them. He threw numerous matanzas at the house in
Alamogordo and everyone came to eat and drink. Everyone loved him because he was such a good man who would help anyone out and he had a good heart, genuinely caring.
You had just left my office to tell me the kids were home from school & settled in to do their homework & you were on your way to Uncle Buds to have a beer. Within minutes it seemed a police woman was standing next to me at the copier telling me she was there to give me a ride to the hospital & that we had to leave now. Wait, what? Who, why? I don’t know what she said but the next thing I remember was seeing you on the table in the ER with so many police officers outside the room. I told you to wake up, we had to go home but the nurses took me out & asked me who they should call? I remember telling them our priest. You probably thought I wasn’t listening all those times you told me to be sure you got your last rites if anything happened to you. So many people showed up at the hospital which was a blessing because the rest of the day & the days & weeks that followed are a blur. Your kids championed through it all & their biggest concern was who was going to cook for us! 😃 Well, suffice it to say, we all learned how to cook. You being with us as we grew, enjoyed our kids & grandchildren & moved through life just wasn’t meant to be but you have the best place of all - in heaven watching over us. Thank you for the memories, our time together & most of all our children who have blessed us with beautiful grandchildren. ❤️
Jamie Ferguson<3 Love this momma. Thank you for sharing.
Jamie Ferguson135w
Who hit fast forward?
I lost you so long ago, but I can still hear your voice when I close my eyes and think of you. I recently found a recording of your voice; it was exactly as I remember it. How cool is that? I remember the week we lost you. I remember the Rosary and the funeral, and then someone hit fast forward. Here I am, 33 years later, still thinking of you during this week of Lent. My 20 year old son likes to hear stories of you and tells me how much he wishes he could have met you. I share stories and pictures so he's got an image of you in his mind. Watch over him as he starts his new life. Watch over all of your grandbabies - I bet you're looking down on them with so much pride. We'll keep telling them about you. Love you. <3.
