A.B. Gwinn

A funeral service will be held 2:00 pm, Tuesday, March 31, 2015 at West Country Club Road Church of Christ for A.B. Gwinn, age 89, of Roswell who passed away on March 25, 2015. Interment will follow at South Park Cemetery. Minister Doug Austin will officiate.

A.B. will lie instate 8:00 am to 7:00pm on Monday, March 30, 2015 at LaGrone Funeral Chapel.

A.B. Gwinn was born January 27, 1926 in Gainesboro, Tennessee to Losier and Mattie Gwin. He was in the Air force from 1949 to 1950. A. B. had a bachelor's degree in agriculture and a master's degree in horticulture. In 1952, he married Charlotte McWhorter. They moved to Roswell in 1954.

A.B. developed the Parks and Recreation Department in Roswell; he was Roswell's first Parks Superintendent in 1954. A.B. was a true leader and a pioneer for the City of Roswell. A.B.'s accomplishments include development of 18 Parks, Sports, Fields, Basketball Courts, Tennis Courts, Recreation Centers and 9 additional holes at Spring River Golf Course. He also developed the Spring River Park and Zoo.

A.B. authored a book on the history of the Roswell Parks and Recreation Department. The book spans 100 years of the recreation movement to present day construction. The book is entitled 100 Years of Dreams and Realities.

He was a former member of the National Recreation and Parks Association and the New Mexico Recreation and Parks Association. He was a Noon optimist and in the Chaves County Wildlife Federation, the Spring River Zoo Foundation. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011 from the New Mexico Recreation and Parks Association.

A.B. is preceded in death by his parents and his wife.

He is survived by his son, Malcom Gwinn of New Castle, IN; daughter, Angela Turrieta of Roswell, NM; sister, Delma Johnson of Clearwater, FL; grandchildren, Cassie Hill, Deanne Russell, Brandy Reeves, Nathan Gwinn, Aulana Gideon.

Pallbearers will be Cole Hill, Nick Russell, Mikey Reeves, Roland McWhorter, Buster Jenkins and Nathan Gwinn.

Arrangements are under the personal care of LaGrone Funeral Chapel
Online condolences may be made at www.lagronefuneralchapels.com

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