Eddie Stokes
September 10, 1944 — December 10, 2017
Eddie Stokes, 73, passed in the early morning hours of Sunday, December 10, 2017 at the University of New Mexico Hospital following an enduring, hard fought battle with a medical illness. He leaves behind his wife and heart’s desire of forty-nine years, Ursula Elizabeth Stokes; his children, Diane E. Hamm and Eddie D. Stokes; his grandchildren, Brandon and Nicholas Hamm and truly a countless amount of friends.
Mr. Stokes was born and raised in the small town of Waverly, Tennessee to John and Florence Stokes. He grew up fishing and pretending to be a cowboy, amidst other youthful troublemaking, with his brothers, Billy Joe and Vester “Gene”. In January of 1964 he enlisted in the United States Army, where he served under the values of respect and loyalty for twenty-two years. He retired from the army under the rank of Master Sergeant and was the recipient of numerous medals and awards, specifically regarding his active duty in Vietnam. After an honorable discharge, Mr. Stokes continued to give to his state and country as a training specialist for the Tennessee Department of Corrections. He retired eighteen years later to return to his boyhood adventures of daydreams and hot summers on the Tennessee River.
In 1965, when stationed in Germany, Mr. Stokes met his true flame and the love of his life at a fair in Frankfurt. They married three years later and she would accompany him for the remainder of his life. Together, they lived from the city bustle of Washington, D.C. to the rolling hills of Kentucky, welcoming two children along the way. Many years later he would welcome two more ‘kids” as he affectionately called them his dogs; Shugs and Gaston. In his final years, he was never alone as they followed him everywhere he went. His life served as proof of the Emerson principle, “love and you shall be loved.”
Mr. Stokes spent his retirement days landscaping his yard, grilling for his loved his ones and playing cards with his grandchildren. In 2012, he moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico with his family. From childhood through his elder years, he had always admired western films and folklore. Now, he joins his outlaw heroes, like the brave John Wayne, for a great desperado show in the sky.
FRENCH – Westside
9300 Golf Course Rd NW
505-897-0300