Michael Manuel Cadena

Michael Manuel Cadena

Las Cruces - It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved Michael Manuel Cadena on February 2, 2021. He was born in Mesilla on March 6th, 1962, to Manuel F. and Helen M. Cadena. Michael grew up in Mesilla. He was the oldest son, with two brothers and five sisters. However, many of the people Michael met became friends or even almost like family to him. He was a man of few words but when he spoke, people listened. Anyone who spent any time with Mike quickly discovered that everywhere he went, he would bump into someone he knew.

His greatest gift was teaching and he loved coaching wrestling, soccer, and football. But it all started with wrestling. Michael wrestled in junior high and high school and went to Pima College in Arizona to continue wrestling. He coached and officiated wrestling for many years. An avid fan of all sports, you could find Mike on the sidelines at the games of all the teams he rooted for and supported, or hosting family and friends to watch boxing on TV at his home.

He earned a bachelors and a master's degree from New Mexico State University, and he went on to have a long and accomplished career as a teacher. Students often described the lasting and substantial impact he had on them. Mike taught in many schools and multiple districts, including the Zuni Nation. He covered the entire grade range, from K through 12. He taught Physical Education and was an adaptive PE Coordinator. He taught social studies and history. He had a particular fondness for teaching New Mexico History. Mike was devoted to the very end to his teaching job at Alamogordo High School where he taught for the last six years, and he made a lasting impression on students, families and staff.

Michael was elected Mayor of Mesilla in 1998, and was re-elected twice. Before that, he served many years as a Trustee. He truly loved serving his hometown community and making a difference in the community that meant so much to him. His commitment to preserving the history, beauty, and value of Mesilla was born out of having deep generational roots in the town. He will be joining Tiburcio and Clara M. Cadena, his paternal great grandparents; Tirso and Delores Fierro, his paternal/maternal great grandparents; Domingo M. and Refugio de Maria (Cuca) Cadena, his paternal grandparents; Anastasio and Candelaria Maese, his maternal great grandparents; Tito and Cresenciana Maese, his maternal grandparents; and Manuel F. Cadena, his father, in the Mesilla cemetery.

He is survived by his three daughters Micaela, Mireya and Denicia; his granddaughters Aymara, Sofie, and Salome and his grandson Niko; his sisters and brothers, Teresa, Elizabeth, Biviana, Albert, Steve, Rebecca and Barbara; and his mother, Helen. Also left to mourn his passing was the love of his life, Cynthia Munoz, and her daughters Stacey, April, Briana, and Brittany, her five granddaughters and two grandsons, and Cynthia's brothers and sisters. Mike and Cynthia spent the last fourteen years of his life together.

So many others--nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, teaching and coaching colleagues, students and former students--also will miss him and mourn his passing. Due to the necessity to stay safe a future celebration of his life will be held and all will be invited.