Jerry R Spurlin

Jerry Robert Spurlin, 82, of Rio Rancho, New Mexico, was surrounded by family at Lovelace Hospital in Albuquerque, NM, and heard his favorite Bible verses, hymns, tearful goodbyes, and Randall Thompson’s “Alleluia” played before he passed into the loving arms of his Lord on April 22nd, 2024.

Jerry was born in Odessa, TX on December 17, 1941 to his father, Rev. Jay Spurlin, who was the last circuit rider preacher in NM and his mother, Victoria Spurlin. In the first 15 years of his life, Jerry and his brother J.R. and the late sister, LaVerne, moved within the United Methodist route to churches in over 11 different towns in New Mexico and Texas and even had a short stay in Nebraska. He was given a scholarship and spent two years at Phillips Exeter Academy, New Hampshire before finishing high school in Tatum, NM and heading for McMurry College in Abilene, TX.

Jerry met the love of his life, the late Marjorie Louise Goforth, when one of the two McMurry College choir buses broke down and all of the students from her bus had to crowd onto his. When she sat on his lap, he immediately realized he was engaged to the wrong girl. They were married on July 27, 1963.

After their college graduations, Marjorie and Jerry moved to the Atlanta, GA area for 3 years. Marjorie taught school those three years to support Jerry while he went to two years of study at the Candler School of Theology, the Methodist seminary at Emory University. During their second summer together, they worked in Glacier National Park in Montana in the Christian Ministry in the National Parks program. Marjorie was a waitress in the restaurant at Swiftcurrent Motel while Jerry was a desk clerk. Jerry preached three times each Sunday in an outdoor amphitheater and Marjorie had a Sunday School class for children. They did an amazing number of great hikes around the park including one 20-mile hike in one day to see Dawn Mist Falls.

Jerry finally realized that the pastoral Methodist Ministry was not his true calling and spent the last of their three years in the Atlanta area as a management trainee at a large Atlanta bank. He then got a job as a branch manager in Loving, NM. Marjorie and Jerry spent 7 years in the Loving/Carlsbad area and while there both their son, Douglas James Spurlin, and their daughter, Dawn Michelle Spurlin were born (Dawn was named after Dawn Mist Falls). They moved to Gallup, NM for 9 years; then to Alamogordo, NM for 7 years; then back to Gallup for the last 17 years of Jerry’s banking career. During his career, he received many awards for his leadership in many charitable civic organizations such as Kiwanis and Habitat for Humanity.

Jerry vacationed with his family every summer for two weeks in a travel trailer to campgrounds in NM and Colorado, and developed a professional hobby of taking wildflower pictures while Marjorie cataloged over 2,000 species and their dates and locations. In the last few years of his life, he was chosen at the NM Cancer Center as one of the artist exhibitors to fundraise for cancer patients. He gave over 150 pictures away to doctors and nurses that helped him manage his multiple myeloma and other appointments during the last 6 years of his life along with a personal note of thanks on the back of each picture. There were 11 pictures ready to go that were delivered after his death. Jerry and Marjorie were dedicated members of the United Methodist Church and Jerry was still singing in the choir just a week before he died. He delighted in many hunting trips with Marjorie’s dad, the late James Houston Goforth and brother, Jim Goforth and would not be deterred from going even this past year. A special thanks to his grand-niece Megan Bucklin and to Sarah Spurlin’s fiance’, Patrick Turner, for helping during his last hunting excursion.

Jerry was greatly devoted to his six grandchildren; Sarah, Caroline and Emma Spurlin and Samantha (Sami), Nathaniel & Bethany Filer. When Marjorie died just two days after Bethany moved in with the grandparents, Bethany and Grandpa prayed together every night. He was thrilled when Nathaniel also moved in as a “let’s listen to very loud choral music” buddy and when Sami moved into his wine cellar (we did first move out all 1500 bottles of wine) as his own personal and very attentive nurse. Every morning, a resounding choral, opera or organ album could be heard throughout the house (possibly even by the neighbors!). He could be found singing with his whole heart and weeping with the music. He requested phone calls every day from Douglas and Dawn, and listened to every performance or church service of all of the grandchildren that he could get sent to his email. He was delighted by Lisa and Caroline’s baking him some of Marjorie’s cookie and fudge recipes when they came for a visit and was so pleased to be able to drive out to spend Christmas with the whole Spurlin family in Fayetteville last December. He deeply wanted to attend Sarah's senior recital and master's degree graduation from the University of Rochester this spring.

Matt and Dawn read devotions to him every evening during the 2024 lent season from Walt Wangerin’s Reliving the Passion and after each and every one, he would exclaim in the deepest, most resonant voice you can imagine and often in tears, “Wow!” He took communion to shut-ins, met regularly with a dinner group that has gathered for forty years and worked for hours and hours as financial officer doing the books for the United Methodist Foundation. You would constantly hear him saying throughout the day, “Life is good!”

Jerry is survived by his son Douglas Spurlin (and Lisa), daughter Dawn Filer (and Matt); his brother J.R; his six grandchildren Sarah, Caroline & Emma Spurlin, Samantha (Sami), Nathaniel & Bethany Filer; brother-in-law and best friend, Jim Goforth (and Linda), nephew Bobby Umstead (and Rene); niece Leslie Bucklin; and great nieces Amanda, Megan & Mikala Bucklin and Lauren Lipiatt. He will be dearly missed by all who knew him.

A memorial service will be held 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 15, 2024 in the sanctuary of Central United Methodist Church of Albuquerque, NM. A graveside interment of Jerry’s ashes will also be held at the Tularosa, NM cemetery at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 16, 2024. In lieu of flowers, please donate in his honor to the Crutchfield Endowment for Music and Fine Arts, Central United Methodist Church Foundation, c/o Central United Methodist Church, 201 University Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106—https://www.centraltolife.org