Juanita “Nita” Simmons Klement, 92, a resident of Silver City, NM, entered eternal rest on Saturday April 27, 2024 at Fort Bayard Medical Center surrounded by her family. She was born on July 27, 1931 to William Price and Eleanor May (Hendricks) Simmons in Hedley, Texas. She was the tenth of 11 children.
Nita moved to Deming with her family where they had a farm south of Deming. She graduated from Deming High School in 1949 and married Leon G. Klement, also of Deming, on March 12, 1950. They had two children, Gery and Karen. Having always wanting to open a restaurant, the family moved to Ruidoso in 1962 to partner in a restaurant venture. The following year they moved to Las Cruces where she worked at the NASA Space Center as well as NMSU. While working at the university, she began to pursue a degree in English. Her husband died in 1971 and she never remarried. She graduated with her BA in English from NMSU in 1974. She then moved to Texas where she worked in the oil business but never lost her roots in NM. In the mid 1980’s, she returned to Las Cruces to fulfill her dream of owning a restaurant. She remodeled an old adobe ranch house off of Amador and opened Fajitas New Mexico Café.
She prided herself on being one of the first restaurants to offer fajitas, not to mention, her fresh red chile enchiladas. She operated Fajitas for 12-13 years and then sold her restaurant to retire in Caballo. This was her happy place. She had a house with a rare view of the Caballo Reservoir and Caballo Mountains. From her porch she loved to spend time reading, studying history, doing crosswords, and marveling at the constantly changing scenery and wildlife. Other hobbies included jewelry making, coin collecting, and collecting precious stones. Prior to entering Fort Bayard, Nita lived with her daughter in Flower Mound, Texas and with her son in Silver City but maintained her home in Caballo.
She always maintained that she was the richest woman in the world. The wealth she held so dear was her family. She was a loving mother, grandmother, great grandmother, great-great grandmother, sister, and aunt. She was affectionately known as “Grandmother” by her grandsons and their children, and “Honey” by her granddaughters and their children.
She is survived by her son Leon “Gery” Klement (Sherry) of Silver City, NM; her daughter Karen Klement Thornton (Kelton) of Flower Mound, TX; her youngest sister, Kathleen Hamilton; four grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild. She is preceded in death by her husband, her parents; her six brothers Weldon, William, Robert “Rob”, Lloyd, Thomas “Billy” and Clayton Doyle “Clay” Simmons; three sisters, Katie Mae Simmons, Mary Nell Hughes and Johnie Dale Rackley.
The Holy Rosary will commence on Thursday, May 9, 2024 at 9:30am, at Santa Clara Catholic Church, with Deacon Bill Holguin reciting. The Funeral Mass will be celebrated immediately after, at10:00am with Father Casmir Anozie officiating. The inurnment will be held the following day, Friday, May 10, 2024 at 11:00am in Deming, NM at Mountain View Cemetery with Fr. Prakasham Babu officiating.
Cremation will take place at Terrazas Crematory. Arrangements are with Terrazas Funeral Chapels and Crematory “Trust care for the ones you love” ~ 575-537-0777. To send condolences, visit www.terrazasfuneralchapel.com .