Eric E. Burchett

1979 - 2017

Joe E. Burchett, 38, was called to his Heavenly Home by his precious and Loving Lord on Sunday, June 4, 2017, from his home in Glencoe, NM. He was born in Ruidoso on January 12, 1979, to his parents, Jerry and Marilyn Burchett. Also in the home where he lived were his 14 year old sister, Doretta, and his widowed grandmother, Ruth "Granny" Burchett. When Joe was 7 years old, his brother, Robert "Robbie" was born and suddenly Joe was an older brother caring for his new brother.
It was a blessing that he had so many good "baby-sitters" at home as it was discovered that he had a heart problem, called Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, when he was only 6 weeks old. His heart would race so fast that it was hard to get enough Oxygen in his blood. At that time he spent 8 days in the St. Mary's Hospital while the doctors worked to get his heart to beat at the correct pace. This heart condition remained with him all his life, but as he got older he learned how to deal with the problem himself without having to resort to medicine. The heart problem did not slow him down as he remained very active all of his life. The only thing he had to give up was track and athletics while in high school at Capitan.
Joe started Kindergarten at the Hondo Public Schools where both his parents taught school and his sister attended. It was in Kindergarten that Joe met his best friend for life, Jason Gipson, who later became his business partner in Cofex Computing.
Joe had a severe speech problem at the time and when Hondo had to drop its Speech program at school because of finances, his parents transferred him to the Capitan Elementary School. Jason, too, soon transferred to Capitan so the two best friends could remain together. Joe graduated as the salutation from Capitan High School in 1997. While in high school, Joe had an uncanny knack for computers, and the teachers soon learned to turn to Joe for help with them any time there was a problem.
In high school, Joe wanted a computer, so he worked to earn it. He went to a neighbor who had an apple orchard and worked out an agreement to pick and sell the apples, with half the earnings to go to the neighbor and half to Joe. Joe was also very active in 4-H and later in the Capitan FFA program. Joe showed various animals at the Lincoln County Fair, Eastern NM Fair, and the NM State Fair. Through Joe's 4-H activities, he was selected to be one of the four 4-H ambassadors representing Lincoln County in Washington, DC. Joe also received a proficiency award in fruit management from the NM State FFA. The next year, Joe went on to receive the highest FFA degree awarded and that was the American Farmer Degree.
After graduating from Capitan High, Joe went to New Mexico Tech at Socorro, where he got his degree in Computer Science in 2002. He returned to Ruidoso where he soon started his computer business, Cofex Computing, in the building of Gary Mitchell. Jason Gipson soon joined him after he graduated from NMSU. Eventually Joe and Jason were able to buy the building at 204 Sudderth, across from the Lincoln County Medical Center, where they still have their business.
During this time Joe moved out of his parent's house to a house in Glencoe where he lived the rest of his life. He remodeled the house, doing most of the work himself. He also set up a Black-smithing shop and enjoyed making gifts out of metal. He always enjoyed working with his hands, and often was found at his parents' house, helping his dad weld fences and build a barn.
As a youngster, Joe became a member of the Capitan Methodist Church, but once out on his own, he searched for a church with younger members and that called to him. He found it at the First Southern Baptist Church of Ruidoso Downs with Randy Widener as the pastor. There, he was baptized again, and begin taking an active part in the church. He became a Gideon, joined a group traveling to Israel, and helped cook the Wednesday Night Meals and many of the Sunday meals at the church.
It was at church that he met a beautiful young lady named Jane Hanners and soon began dating her. On August 1, 2015, Joe and Jane Hanners were wed at an outdoor ceremony at Hondo with Randy Widener officiating. Though they only had a short time together, they really enjoyed life. One memorable trip was to Italy for two weeks while they visited with his brother, Robert and family who lived there at the time.
Joe is survived by his wife, Jane of Glencoe; his parents, Jerry and Marilyn Burchett of Hondo; his sister, Doretta Barlow and husband, Mark, of Rangely, Colorado, and their children Jenn Barlow and partner, John Cottrill of Puyallup, Washington, Cole Barlow in the navy and stationed at San Diego, CA, and Ryan Barlow of Rangely; Joe's brother, Robert Burchett and wife, Alida, and sons, Rowan and Brennan of Tucson, AZ; and his special aunt who lived with them for some time at Hondo, Joy Northcutt, now of Carrizozo; another aunt, Charma Whitehead and husband, John, of Taylorsville, Utah, and children, Matt, of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Chad of Oklahoma City, OK; and uncle, Jim Northcutt of Roswell, NM and daughter, Lisa Briggs and Michael of Dexter, and son, Kim Northcutt and wife Wendy of Roswell. He is also survived by his father-in-law and mother-in-law, John and Belinda Hanners of Ruidoso; brothers-in-laws, Michael Hanners, Jimmy Hanners, and Jordan Rutherford; sister-in-law, Christy Rutherford; grandmother-in-law, Doris Hanners, and numerous nieces and nephews, all of whom thought that Joe was extra special.
He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Clyde and Ruth Burchett and Garland and Doris Northcutt.
Visitation will be Friday, June 9, at LaGrone Funeral Chapel in Ruidoso from 4:00 to 6:00 PM. The funeral service will be Saturday, June 10, at 11:00 AM in the First Baptist Church of Ruidoso at 270 Country Club Drive (near Cree Meadows).
The family has requested memorials to the Gideon's, First Southern Baptist Church of Ruidoso Downs, or you favorite charity.