Earle Elmo Best

Earle Best passed away on November 30. He was 90 years old. Earle was born in Bald Knob, Arkansas in 1917. He overcame a life long stuttering problem to graduate from the University of Iowa majoring in Economics and Speech. After college, he served in the Coast Guard for two years. Earle married the former Susan Kraetsch in 1941and they lived happily together for sixty six years. Earle began his career as a junior executive at Whirlpool in Michigan where his two boys were born. Because of Susie’s asthma, he moved his family to progressively drier climates and changed jobs with each move. The best job in his family’s opinion was to Totavi, New Mexico, the cite of a construction camp on an Indian Reservation near Los Alamos. Earle ran the general store, post office, ice house, did all the maintenance and was the de facto mayor of Totavi. His two boys wandered the mesas on foot and horseback and the family developed an abiding love for the high mesa country of northern New Mexico. Eventually Earle moved his family to El Paso where Susie’s asthma came under control in the dry climate. Earle was an accountant in a produce house and later was promoted to district manager of ten Piggly Wiggly Stores in the El Paso area. Ultimately, he accepted a position as Personnel Director for the Ysleta School District before he retired. Earle loved sports. He imparted this love to his boys, Bill and John, through coaching their teams in Little League and basketball and tirelessly working with his boys on tennis, ping pong, golf and his near mesmerizing abilities with a yo yo and top. He set high standards for his kids in athletics, academics and public service. They responded by distinguishing themselves in high school and college and gave Earle one of the proudest moment of his life when he was named ‘Father of the Year’ by the El Paso Herald Post. Earle went on to serve on the Ysleta School Board for fifteen years and held several offices in the Bel Air Booster Club and his church through the years. He refereed softball games in the area. He was an aficionado of the opera and life long fan of UTEP Basketball. He and Susie served as a refuge for stray dogs for thirty years. Earle walked them faithfully every morning at 6:00 AM, sometimes four at a time. He had an abiding love affair with El Paso and the Franklin Mountains. Earle will be remembered for his warmth, positiveness, kindness, generosity and love of life. He literally never met a man or woman he didn’t like, and he was very much loved in return, especially by his family who will miss him dearly. He is survived by his two sons John and Bill, 5 grandchildren and his dear wife of 66 years, Susie. A Memorial Service will be held on Monday, December 3, 2007 at 11:00am at Grace Methodist Church with Reverend Joseph Barthlow officiating.