Jack C. Hewett

Jack C. Hewett, 86, of Mountainair, NM, passed away on April 24, 2014 in Edgewood, NM. He was born January 27, 1928 as the fifth of seven boys to Marcus E. and Nina May Autry Hewett, a farming couple in the historic Eastview community in the foothills of the Manzano Mountains northwest of Mountainair. As a boy and young man he and his brothers helped on his family’s bean farm. After graduating from high school he joined the Army, serving in the Army Corps of Engineers in the Philippines during WWII. In 1947 he married Dorothy Helen Norris, and together they farmed land in Texas and then land south of Mountainair. Later they lived in Belen, NM, where Jack worked for the railroad. It was during these early years of their marriage that their first two children, Kenneth and Audrey, were born.When Jack and Dorothy returned to Mountainair, they lived on the Hewett home place, and eventually their child, Kelley, was born. Jack worked for the U.S. Forest Service, raised a few cattle, and along with a couple of his brothers and their neighbors was instrumental in the creation of the first telephone cooperative that brought telephone service to Eastview. Jack was blessed with many talents and lived a rich life with varied experiences and interests. He was an avid student of Western history, local history, Biblical history, and archaeology, and he wrote and illustrated a pamphlet about how to flake arrowheads, which he sold by mail and in his Old Southwest Museum, located in Mountainair. He used his artistic talents to create dioramas and other exhibits for his museum, and he restored and sold antique cars, primarily Model T Fords, a passion he pursued for over forty years. During this time he also pursued his talent for creative writing, completing several Western novels and having history and archaeology related articles published in New Mexico magazine and True West. Jack is preceded in death by his wife Dorothy, his son Kenneth, his parents, and his six brothers; Marcus A. Hewett, J.W. Hewett, Lee Roy Hewett, Billy D. Hewett and Marvin Hewett. He is survived by his daughter Audrey Vaughn of Mountainair, his daughter Kelley Pounds and husband Monty of Corona, his daughter-in-law Mary Hewett of Mountainair, his sisters-in-law Iris Hewett and Faye Hewett, his grandson Jason Vaughn and granddaughter Jenna Pounds, along with two of his great-granddaughters, several cousins and numerous nieces and nephews. Services will be held Saturday, May 3, 2014 at 10:00AM at Harris-Hanlon Mortuary in Mountainair with Pastor Richard Spencer officiating. Burial of cremains, with military honors, will follow at the Mountainair Cemetery.