Jesus Cadena

Jesus R. Cadena "Jesse", age 84 of Ruidoso Downs, NM, passed away at his home on Monday January 19, 2026.

Jesse was born on August 6, 1941, in Presidio, TX to Manuel Cadena and Consuelo Ramirez Cadena, he spent 67 years as the loving husband to his teenage sweetheart Isabel (Garcia) Cadena, together they had 5 children Jesse G. Cadena Jr. (d. 2017), Cyndi Cadnea of Las Cruces, Debbie Cadena of Ruidoso Downs, Marian & Rob Taylor of Ruidoso Downs, and Javier "JV" & JoRae Cadena of Ruidoso Downs. He is blessed with 13 grandchildren, and 20 Great Grandchildren, a legacy that continues to grow.

He was one of seven children and is survived by his baby sister Berena Vasquez of Goodyear, Arizona, his other siblings that preceded him in death are sisters: Agricola, Trinidad, Blandina, and Petra, as well as his brother Domingo.

Jesse was a strong believer in the Catholic faith, and a proud member of the St. Eleanor Catholic Community, he was a "jack of all trades" and mastered them all; there was nothing he couldn't do when he put all his effort into it. He grew up in the fields of West Texas and Eastern New Mexico, he proudly served in the National Guard for 6 years and also worked at H&J Food Basket in Artesia, NM, this led Jesse to start working in the grocery industry, from working at H&J, to then owning his own store the "Hollywood Food Mart", then to Safeway, and Furr's. He also owned the Borden's Milk distributorship in Ruidoso for a few years; he really did it all.

Jesse had many passions, and never did anything half-way. He owned and trained his own racehorses, because he loved horse racing, he was interested in aviation, so he learned to fly and bought his own airplane, he loved to hunt and fish. He built two houses from the ground up and one was a gigantic effort, where he built his house in Tularosa out of adobe bricks. He filled his houses with family and friends, and music. He loved music and was a self-taught musician who could play the trumpet and accordion by ear; he would love to sing songs from his traditional Hispanic background. With a big cheesy smile, he had very dear friends and was father figure to many of his children's friends and just people who would show up at the store needing help, he was always willing to lend a hand, money or advance credit to people who needed groceries. He will be greatly missed by all those who knew him.

A Rosary will be recited at 10:00am on Saturday, January 31, 2026, at St. Eleanor Roman Catholic Church in Ruidoso, NM. The Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 10:30am.