MICHAEL QUINTANA

MICHAEL QUINTANA
New Mexico is in mourning. Michael Quintana, who gave his all to New Mexico and its people, died August 27, 2025 in Las Cruces. He died in his sleep of a heart attack - his dog, his horse and his cowboy hat nearby. He was 75.
Michael adopted New Mexico in his teens. He began a lifelong love affair with the state working cattle on a ranch outside Anthony, near his birth city of El Paso, TX. He went on to earn a Master's degree in rural economic development at New Mexico State University. It opened the door to several careers, but in his heart-of-hearts Michael was always a New Mexico cowboy.
It was as a cowboy with a Master's that he helped the Navajo Nation with its Churro Sheep Project and worked with the Indo-Hispano community to reclaim the lands taken from them by the U.S. government despite the promises of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
He worked as a top staffer for the State Legislature and served for a time as district director for New Mexico's Third Congressional District. He went on to become the state's District Resource Manager for southern New Mexico. He retired from there in 2020.
Throughout his careers – when not on an annual trek to advise the Kurds of Kazakhstan on improved farm and ranch practices - Michael lived his cowboy life by helping countless New Mexico ranchers run their herds and move their cattle to market.
Over the decades of his adult life, Michael lived in Santa Fe, El Rito, Las Cruces and Deming. He took great pride that he roped in rodeos and rode bareback broncs in his youth despite a leg permanently damaged in a high school motorcycle accident.
Born March 29, 1950 in El Paso, Michael is survived by his twin sister JoAnne Quintana, who now lives in Albuquerque; his brother Joe Quintana of Whidbey Island, WA; his mother, Beatriz Johnson in memory care El Paso; a beloved niece, Rita Bentley of Durango, CO, and her daughter Danielle; and nephews Marcus and Mario Quintana in Washington state. Plus thousands of New Mexicans who knew and loved him well.
May he rest in peace.
Delayed cremation services will be held in Las Cruces at 11AM on Saturday, Oct 4. at Baca's Funeral Chapel, 300 East Boutz Road.