Richard (Ric) Etier

Richard “Ric” Lance Etier, precious husband and father, passed from this earth surrounded by family on February 24, 2023.

Ric was born to Elvin H. and Lee Elenor Etier on May 18, 1944, in Sulphur, Oklahoma. He was an entrepreneur, artist, and engineer at heart; a man of many talents. Everything Ric touched or tinkered with, he made better and more beautiful. To his grandchildren, he was a fixer of baby doll highchairs, fishing rods, tractors, wagons, and a master fisherman.

A proud US Marine, Ric served in the 8th Marine Corps. Reserve from 1963-1969. He fell in love with and married fellow Okie Nancy Lee Scruggs on October 24, 1968, in Wynnewood, OK.

After romping around Oklahoma, working his tail off, and impressing his employer, Ric and Nancy opened their first business together in 1972.  That venture took them to Denver, then to Albuquerque where they lived for nine years and had the first two of their three children,  Alea & Andra. While running a growing business, Golden Sands Mobile Homes, a desire to get out of the city and raise their children in a small town took them to Hobbs, NM in 1982. Here, their family flourished as they opened a second mobile home dealership in Hobbs, and a third in Altus, Oklahoma. Soon after, they welcomed their third child, Evin, and purchased Hobbs Carpet & Tile.

Ric and Nancy owned and operated Hobbs Carpet & Tile for 24 years, where Ric could be found running the show with his cowboy boots on.  He was driven, hard-working; never hesitating to put on knee guards and get down on the floor with his installers and work non-stop until the job was finished and to perfection.

Ric had a servant’s heart. He was a founding member of Hobbs Main Street and was President of the Manufactured Housing Foundation. He also served a short stint in the ‘80’s as an impromptu, self-assigned cheerleader sporting a rainbow wig and firing up the crowd at the Hobbs Eagles football games.

Ric was most in his element when he was on a lake in his bass boat.  He was a member of the Hobbs Bass Club for years where he made and kept his closest friends.  He was part of the infamous “Ric and Ron Show” with his closest and dearest friend, Ron Craven.  His fishing stories are numerous, lighthearted, fun, and rarely doubted by those close to him.

Ric’s was truly a life well lived.  He is survived by a loving family, who will miss him dearly and will carry on with the values he lived and instilled in those around him: integrity, work ethic, and strength.

Ric is preceded in death by his dear friends Charles Wayne Taylor and Ron Craven, parents Elvin H. and Lee Eleanor Etier, brothers Christopher, Alan, and Marc Etier. Left to cherish his memory are his wife of 54 years, Nancy Etier, their children; Alea (Chris) Cabrera, Andra Maddox, and Evin (Allie) Etier, seven grandchildren; Elijah, Sloan, and Cieley Cabrera, Asher and Stella Maddox, and AvaLeigh and Hazel Etier, one sister; Jill Botkin, and many extended family members. Ric is also survived by dear friends who are family; Sharon Craven, Jill and Kelly Medford, and Jerri and Tim Lusk.

The family would like to extend their deepest gratitude for the care and love shown to them by the StarCare Hospice nurses, staff, also Dr. Simon and Dr. Homer.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Palmer Drug Abuse Program, P.O. Box 5185, Hobbs New Mexico, 88241.