Steven Erra Pounds

Steven E. (Steve) Pounds, 88, of Cedarvale, NM, passed away on December 7, 2023, at his home. Earlier that day he had played a round of golf with two of his sons, and he was out in his skid steer loading hay for his feed day on Friday when he peacefully passed, just the way he would have wanted—working on the ranch that he had devoted his life to. Steve was born June 22, 1935, to Tom and Muriel (Twyeffort) Pounds, a ranching couple who owned the Slash Cross T ranch near Cedarvale. From his infancy, Muriel had Steve up in the saddle with her, and by the time he was four, he was herding cattle on his own. He attended grade school in Cedarvale, and he loved playing basketball. He and his friends would each pitch in ten cents for gas and hire their school bus driver to take them to Duran to play a game. Steve graduated high school in Corona and attended college in NMSU in Las Cruces, where he joined the National Guard. In order to earn money to start buying his own ranch, Steve worked or his uncle, Jim Twyeffort, in California, a plaster contractor. Steve earned good money as a hod carrier and later as a plasterer, and it was because of that job that he met his future wife Myla Pounds, the sister of one of his coworkers. Steve and Myla married in September of 1962, and Myla came home with him to Cedarvale, where they began to build their family and their cattle ranch together. Steve and their three sons, Monty, Marvin, and Michael, worked hard on the family ranch, but Steve always took time during those long busy days to play with his boys, and the four of them played golf together as often as they could. Steve and Myla also made sure to raise their boys to love and serve the Lord, and Steve and Myla frequently volunteered in children’s programs at the Nazarene churches they attended. Their dedication to their love of God as well as their family life no doubt played a part in their sons Marvin and Michael becoming pastors. Steve is preceded in death by his parents, Tom and Muriel, and his two sisters, Maxine and Thomasene. He is survived by his wife Myla Pounds and their three sons: Monty Pounds (and his wife Kelley) of Pinos Wells; Marvin Pounds (and his wife Becky), also of Pinos Wells; and Michael Pounds, of Cedarvale. In addition, Steve is survived by four granddaughters and four great-grandchildren: Jenna Bustillos (Annika, Kaya, and Solomon); Noelle Pounds; Sarah Martinez (husband Roy, son Grayson); and Anna Pounds. A private memorial will be held at a future date.