Herman Augustine

The world was blessed with Herman Augustine on March 15, 1921 near Pueblo Pintada, New Mexico to the late Juan and Nora N. Augustine. Grandpa lived a long, simple, rich and fulling life of 99 years in Escavada, NM. On April 20, 2020 God called Grandpa home to the Kingdom of Heaven as he had fulfilled his duties here on Earth!
Grandpa is survived by his adopted daughter, Eleanor Arthur (Chee Beyale) and his sister Eunice Antonito. He is also survived by his grandchildren Rhea Davis (Anderson), Elena Arthur, Roxanne Arthur, Woody Arthur Jr. (Sharon), Chester Arthur, Sandra Banks, Timothy Arthur, and Colleen Brewster (Mathew). Plus, he leaves behind 13 great grandchildren and 7 great-great grandchildren who adored their papa like no other.
Grandpa was the pillar of the family, who served not only as papa but he severed the role as a father and a mother. Grandpa provided a true testament of unconditional love; he supported everyone with their endeavors with words of encouragement and resources. Grandpa never criticized anyone for their mistakes or foolishness, instead he was there to support the learning and growth that was to follow. In this aspect, he was a man of few words.
Grandpa was a proud decorated veteran who honored his country by serving in the Army during World War II. He was proud to have served during war time, in Germany. It was during this time that he was injured when a grenade was dropped into the tank which he occupied with fellow comrades. He never complained about his injuries, instead he viewed his scares as a Badge Of Honor. When he returned to the state side he began his duty as a supporter/advocate of Veteran issues. He advocated for improvements of services for veterans by attending meetings at the local and national level. Many times, Grandpa would get on the bus to travel to New York, Chicago, and other cities to attend conventions to support the development of bills and laws as it pertained to Veterans and their families.
Next to being a proud veteran, Grandpa was a passionate fan of the Denver Broncos. He enjoyed watching football and he lived for the super bowl parties. Grandpa brought the family together during this time as he always wanted to know who was hosting the super bowl.
Grandpa believed in hard work as he maintained a rigid work schedule even when he was only working in his yard. He kept track of when he clocked into work; he scheduled 2 breaks and a lunch into his day and he was off work only until he put in an honest day's work. He always had projects such as digging out his pond by hand, filling in pot holes in the road, and engineered his own road by doing all the labor work and etc. If someone came to visit him during his work day, he as sure to tell them that he could not visit until his break or lunch, not when he was working.
Grandpa enjoyed herding sheep until he was no longer ambulatory. He took care of the sheep and lambs by providing for all their needs without asking for help. He knew every face of his livestock and if the grandkids lost one; he provided a description of which one was missing. He also enjoyed watching picture shows and he was an avid reader. If grandpa came across a word he did not know the meaning of, he would write it down in his notebook, look up the definition and memorized it. He always had a list of spelling words which he studied and he would quiz himself until he could recall it from memory.
There are no words to express what a truly wonderful man Grandpa was, it can honestly be stated that they don't make men like him anymore. Grandpa set an exemplary example for his grandkids, relatives and friends. He lived a life of integrity, honor, hard work and respect which he set the standards high for; his act will be a tough act to follow. We were grateful that God thought us so worthy to have blessed us with the best Papa in the world for 99 years! We have many fond memories and stories of our time with Papa, he will be sorely missed by all who knew him.
Grandpa Herman had a glorious reunion in Heaven with his parents Juan and Nora N. Augustine; his siblings John Augustine, Rita Augustine, Billie Augustine; son in law Woody J. Arthur Sr.; his nephew Wallace Augustine and his grandson Randy J. Arthur.
A public viewing will be held at Cope Memorial Chapel in Kirtland, NM for extended family and friends on April 24, 2020 from 1PM to 3PM. A private family burial will be held at Memory Gardens Cemetery on Saturday April 25, 2020 at 10AM. Pallbearers will be Woody Arthur, Jr., Chester Arthur, Timothy Arthur, Jeffery Herrera, Mathew Brewster, and Anderson Beliditto. The Honorary Pallbearers include the Grand Children, SSG Alvin Brown and SGT Tomacita Augustine.