Jerry Manis Obituary

Former Durango resident Jerry Lee Manis died Tuesday, May 31, 2011, of a heart attack while vacationing in Jonesboro, Ark. He was 67.

Mr. Manis was born to Arthur and Evelyn Manis on Sept. 20, 1943, in Pocahontas, Ark. He spent his early years picking cotton on a farm. When he was 19, he left Arkansas and moved to Durango.

He met Julia Fay Davies here, and the couple married on March 14, 1964, in Durango.

They moved to Kingman, Ariz., in 1968, and lived there for 19 years. Mr. Manis worked as a welder in the Duval copper mine.

In 1987, he moved his family back to Durango and drove trucks for a living, ending up with his own company, Manis Trucking, where he took jobs with his dump truck. In October 2005, his truck malfunctioned and ended his career when Mr. Manis had to jump off the truck to avoid going over a cliff.

The Manises had lived in Cortez for the last four years.

Mr. Manis enjoyed fishing and driving his truck as well as spending time with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by two infant siblings.

Mr. Manis is survived by his wife of 47 years, Julia Manis, of Cortez; daughters Deborah Hunter and Melissa Hall, both of Mancos, and Kimberly Knapp of Albuquerque; brother Gaylon Manis of Paragould, Ark.; five grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Monday, June 6, 2011, at the First Baptist Church, 100 N. Market St., in Cortez.