Harold Wayne "Chub" Foreman, 84

Harold Wayne “Chub” Foreman, a.k.a. Pops, age 84, beloved husband, hather, brother, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother-in-law, cousin, uncle and friend to many, passed away suddenly from a stroke on March 25, 2023.  Chub was born on July 27, 1938, in Portales, New Mexico.  He was preceded in death by his mother Lillian Childress Foreman and father Edgar Franklin Foreman, his brothers Ed Foreman and Gene Foreman, his half-brothers Roy, Loy and Jack Foreman, his half-sisters Capitola Tillery and Floriene Lee, and his granddaughter Lyndsee Grace Foreman.  Chub is survived by his wife of 64 years, Carol Knapp Foreman, his daughter Barbara and husband Carl Hunter, his daughter Laura and husband David Leong, and his son Brad and his wife Debbie, sister-in-law Barbara Foreman, sister-in-laws Jean Randall (Palmer) and Joan Copeland (Charles), nephew Kirk Foreman (Penny), niece Rebecca Foreman (Stefan), cousins Hughla Foreman, Cherry McKinney (John), Lois Middles (Brian) and Capitola McWhorter (Earl).  Chub is also survived by the Hunter grandchildren Wesley and Lauren; the Leong grandchildren Kara Michnovicz, Kristin Robles (Emmis), Jessica Hamilton (Ian), Patrick Leong (Rachael), and Andrew Leong (Lauren); the Foreman grandchildren Ashlee, Brandee Kane (Austin), Taylor Foreman (LeeAnn), Dayne, Addyson, Sophee, Eli, and Micah.  Chub is also survived by his great grandchildren Gabriella, Tyce, and Jovie Michnovicz; Joel, Itzel, Ismael, Eddie, and Andres Robles; Ethan, Amaya, and Nyomie and Baby (9/23) Hamilton; Sullivan and Baby Boy (6/23) Leong; Nora, Henry, and Millie Leong; Aubree, Brynlee, Brodie, and Hadlee Kane; and Olivia and Elizah Foreman.

Chub was born and raised on a peanut and sweet potato farm in Portales, graduating from Portales High School in 1956 and attended Eastern New Mexico University for two years in Pre-Engineering. ENMU is where he met his wife Carol on a blind date. He graduated from New Mexico State University in 1961 with a B.S. in civil engineering and his first job was with Peter Kiewit Sons’ Construction Company in Dutch John, Utah, building the Flaming Gorge Dam. One year later, they moved him to Omaha, Nebraska, to work in their main office. A year after that, they moved him to Platte, South Dakota, where he worked on the Platte-Winner Concrete Bridge, which was mostly built while working off floating barges and boats.  He later moved to Dunsmuir, California and worked on the earthfill McCloud Dam.  After that, he moved to Omaha again to do Estimating, and shortly thereafter, they moved to Arroyo Grande, California, to work for E.L. Yeager Construction as the Project Engineer for the construction of Lopez Dam.  In 1968, they moved permanently to Las Cruces, New Mexico, to operate and manage southern New Mexico’s largest Ready Mix and Sand and Gravel Company (Valley Transit Mix) until 1981.  He started Valley Leasing & Development, Inc., became a General Contractor, a New Mexico Licensed Real Estate Broker and a builder and property manager of apartments. In 1984, he was elected to the New Mexico State Senate from Doña Ana County and served two consecutive four-year terms and remained active in politics. He then was employed as quality control engineer with Hensel Phelps Construction, which included the construction of the Large Blast Simulator Project located on White Sands Missile Range-Stallion Site. Finally, he worked as operations manager of Big Chief Stone, Inc., in Las Cruces.

His many honors and activities were president of the NM Ready-Mix Association, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Las Cruces, member of the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce, Las Cruces Home Builders, Amador Museum Foundation, Rio Grande Rotary Club of Las Cruces, Las Cruces Elks Lodge, University United Methodist Church, Mesilla Valley Hospice, University Park Toastmasters and Executive Development Systems. In 1988, he was selected as one of the top 100 Engineering Alumni from the NMSU College of Engineering and in 2008, he and his brother, Ed, were honored with Honorary Doctor of Letters Degrees for their NMSU support and community activities and leadership.

Chub remained active up until the time of his death. He was always on the go, whether it was to his Rotary lunches, Breakfast Club with his buddies, visiting his granddog with a treat in hand, dropping off goodies for grandkids and great-grandkids or running his daily errands. He also spent the last few years helping his son build a house; he could outwork just about anyone. All these things gave him great pleasure.  Chub was one of the best and he is greatly missed by all. He left a legacy that will never be forgotten.

Honoring his wishes, cremation has taken place.  Please join his family as we celebrate the joyful life of Chub, a memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 15, 2023, at 11 a.m. at the NMSU Horseshoe on N. Weddell Drive. There will be a reception immediately following.  In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Mesilla Valley Hospice https://mvhospice.kindful.com/