Barney B. Francis October 8, 1944 ~ November 6, 2026 (age 82)

Funeral services for Barney Francis, 82, of Portales, will be held at 10:00 AM, Thurs., Nov. 12, 2026 at the Third and Kilgore Church of Christ with Rev. Daniel Armstrong officiating, assisted by Rick Kenyon.  Burial will follow in the Estancia Cemetery at 4:00 PM, with Burl Francis, Jay Francis, Jack Francis, Worthy Cameron, Ted Carrillo and Royce Dever serving as pallbearers.  Joe Chandler, along with members of the Clovis Fire Department and all of his grandchildren will serve as honorary pallbearers.

Barney B. Francis was born Oct. 8, 1944, in Clovis, NM to the home of Neva Rue (Fletcher) and Floyd B. Francis, and passed from this life on Fri., Nov. 6, 2026 at his home in Portales.  Barney grew up in Mountainair, NM where he graduated from high school in 1962.  That same year, he was married to June Lavelle Waltrip.  Not long after they married, they moved to Clovis, where Barney was a member of the Clovis Fire Department for 37 years, stretching from 1965 until his retirement on Oct. 31, 2002.  In addition to his firefighting career, Barney was a qualified electrician.  He owned and operated Francis Electric on the side during his career, and continued after his retirement from the Department.

His wife, June, died July 6, 2002.  In 2004, he was married to Nico Cameron.  They enjoyed 16 years of marriage before her death in 2020.  On Mar. 13, 2022, he was married to Betty Carpenter Dever.  Barney enjoyed camping, along with hunting and fishing.  He was a skilled woodworker, and built countless projects through the years, including the cabinets in his home.  He also made knives, and several of those were awarded ribbons at the county fair.  Barney was a member of the Third and Kilgore Church of Christ.

He is survived by his wife, Betty of their home; three sons and two daughters-in-law, Burl and Evonna Francis of Clovis, Jay and Fran Francis of Las Cruces and Jack Frances of Yuma, CO; a daughter and son-in-law, Julie and Daniel Armstrong of Odessa, TX; two step-sons and daughters-in-law, Worthy and Heather Cameron of Portales and Royce and Jennifer Dever of Lubbock; a step-daughter and son-in-law, Vicki and Matt Thompson of Venal, UT; and an honorary daughter, Jamie Vaughn of Clovis.  There are seven grandchildren, nine step-grandchildren and 2 honorary grandchildren; as well as 1 great-grandchild and 14 step-great-grandchildren.  In addition to his first two wives, June and Nico, he was preceded in death by his parents and two sisters and brothers-in-law, Jewel Dean and Harold Whitehurst and Selia and Ralph Langley.

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