J. Howard Mock

On June 5, 2024 John Howard Mock peacefully left this world to join our Lord after succumbing to complications of pneumonia.

Howard was born in Bayfield, Colorado, on September 16, 1941, while his father was working on the Vallecito dam project. Howard grew up in both Colorado and New Mexico. He comes from a long line of ranchers and contractors. His family were homesteaders in Clayton, NM, as early as the 1900s. His father Henry, brother Joe and Howard spent many years building homes and established Mock Homes. Years later, sister Shirley and sister-in-law Carole joined this endeavor. 

While educated in Albuquerque except for high school, Howard attended Foutain High in Fountain Colorado. Howard was both an excellent student and a strong athlete. He was senior class president, a National Merit Scholar and dabbled in theater! Howard earned a full ride academic and football scholarship to Colorado School of Mines. However, at that time, the Mines did not offer Civil Engineering, so it was back to Albuquerque. Howard attended the University of New Mexico and earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering in 1964 and later an Executive MBA from the Anderson School of Business. 

In 1965, Howard married Judy Lynn Dyhrmann. He joined the Air National Guard, attended officers’ school and spent the next few years stationed in South Korea, where he served as an Air Force engineer during the Pueblo Conflict. Grateful for the experience to see the world, Howard was even more grateful to return to America. In 1970, Howard was hired by MB Pete Ford at Jaynes Corporation to grow the company from a concrete subcontractor to a general commercial construction company. Under Howard’s leadership and with an exceptional team, the Jaynes family would become one of the largest commercial construction companies in the southwest region with offices in multiple states. Howard was motivated by a greathearted commitment to provide communities with homes and buildings that were not only useful but also structurally safe. As the owner of Jaynes, Howard felt strongly that he was given many opportunities for growth and success along the way. A wonderful legacy of Howard’s was his desire to give back, always. With that, he was successful in transitioning the Jaynes Family of Companies to an Employee-Owned corporation. 

Howard’s leadership extended beyond Jaynes. Howard’s distinguished legacy with Associated General Contractors reached its pinnacle in 1997 when he was elected National President of AGC of America, representing 38,000 members and hundreds of thousands of construction professionals. He was only the second New Mexico contractor to hold this prestigious office in the association’s 90-plus-year history. Howard also chaired the AGC/UNM Endowed Chair in Construction Management and Engineering Advisory Committee in the Department of Civil Engineering. He is honored in the Halls of Fame of both the UNM Robert O. Anderson School of Management and the UNM School of Engineering. An AGC scholarship at the University of New Mexico bears his name.

Howard was often quoted as saying, “It’s vital that the Jaynes family always give back to the communities in which we do business.” He led by example. He chaired numerous business and civic organizations, including the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, the New Mexico Museum of Natural History Foundation, and the Sandia Preparatory School Board of Directors. He served on the Governors Business Advisory Councils for two New Mexico governors and received numerous awards from many organizations such as Boy Scouts of America Greater Southwest Council, the National Society of Fund-Raising Executives, the League of Women Voters and the Distinguished Leadership award from Leadership New Mexico. Howard was proud to be a New Mexico Amigo and serve as an Elder at Heights Cumberland Church. 

When asked by his wife how he wanted to be remembered, he said, “… besides his family, it was the Jerry Cline Park named in honor of the fallen police officer, Jerry Cline, located at I-40 and Louisiana.” To make that park a reality, Howard and Judy, along with good friend Charles “Red” Berry, established the Mark Twain Neighborhood Association. After ten years of working with the city and UNM, the park was approved and personally designed by Howard. He said, “I won’t last forever but this park that serves the greater Albuquerque community will go on.” 

Howard firmly believed, “when you work hard, you play hard!” And lived by the motto, “You can go home when there’s no place else to go!” He was an avid outdoorsman which included fly fishing, skiing, bird hunting and ranching. It was the company of his dear friends and family that enriched his life immensely. He was loyal and generous and once you were a friend; you were a friend for life!

Howard’s greatest joy and legacy was his family. Judy, his wife of 58 years, was not only his college sweetheart, but his most loved and cherished companion. She loved his finesse on the dance floor, his quick wit, his handsome smile, and his cowboy charm. As a father and grandfather, “Poppie” was reliable, supportive, kind, gracious, and big-hearted. He always honored his commitment to support his children and grandchildren, ensuring the opportunity for them to achieve their educational goals and business endeavors.

J. Howard Mock lived a life well-loved as a great example of humility and grace in caring deeply for others. He will be missed every single day.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Henry and Ola Mae Mock, brothers Joe Ed and Bobby Mock, and son Robert Howard Mock (Robby). Howard is survived by his wife Judy; daughters Michelle Mock Clark (Douglas Clark) and Lara Mock Kelshaw (Michael Kelshaw); grandchildren Ellie, Erik, and Evan Clark, Hannah, Isaac, Joshua, Noah, Mary, Samuel, and Simon Kelshaw of Albuquerque and Bremmer and Morgan Mock of Montana; sister Shirley Mock Gregory of South Carolina; and his faithful bird dog, Riggs.

Should friends desire, donations may be sent in Howard’s name to Meals on Wheels NM PO Box 92551 Albuquerque, NM 87199; 505-808-MEAL; www.mow-nm.org

A memorial service for Howard will take place at 10:00am on Saturday, July 20th 2024. This service will be held at Heights Cumberland Presbyterian, the church his company helped construct. This will be followed by a reception, at a separate location, for family and friends to celebrate Howard's life. He will be laid to rest at a private family ceremony where the Air Force will render honors for his service to our country.