30° and Clear
Andrew “Jess” Gililland was born on January 31, 1931, in Hot Springs, New Mexico to Richard Laffiette (Dick) Gililland and Genevra Madie Wood Gililland. He married Edna Louise Hall on May 24, 1949, and together they made their home in Tularosa, New Mexico beginning in 1956. Jess and Louise were blessed with five children: Jess Leslie (Sandy), Edna Kay Hinkle (Don), Tommy Pete (Tammy), Donna Fay Gililland, and Judy Annette Ratliff. They also had ten grandchildren and nineteen great grandchildren.
Jess grew up on the Gililland Ranch in the San Andres Mountains, spending his childhood working cattle and goats and riding horses before most kids learned to read. When World War II came, the land he loved was taken for what would become the White Sands Missile Range, forcing his family to leave. That loss stayed with him, not as bitterness, but as a quiet understanding of how quickly life can change.
After marrying Louise, Jess worked with his father for a time until the government took over the ranch. He then worked cattle for Ross McDonald and Jim Baird before moving to Ruidoso where he worked at a sawmill and sold firewood with his father-in-law, Clarence “Shorty” Hall. He trained horses for Jack Shaw before beginning a 30-year career with Mountain Bell Telephone Company in October 1953. Jess retired in 1983 at the age of 52.
After retirement, Jess did day work for ranchers until it began interfering with his passion for team roping, a sport in which he truly excelled. Jess roped calves in his younger years but later focused on team roping. In 1997, he won $27,000 at a USTRC event, roping on two horses he trained himself. Over the years, he earned 40 buckles and nine saddles, generously giving away many of those buckles.
Jess loved to raise and train hounds for hunting and enjoyed trapping. He guided hunters on mountain lion and bear hunts, raised fishing worms, picked pine cones, and gardened. Horses were his lifelong companions, and roping was his passion. He shared stories about his upbringing, his work, and his rodeo days. Though he sometimes hesitated to attend family gatherings, he was often one of the last to leave because he cherished visiting.
We say goodbye to a rancher, a horseman, a father, and a keeper of a disappearing way of life. Jess is survived by his five children, nine grandchildren, and nineteen great grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his beloved wife, Louise; his parents, Dick and Genevra; his mother and father in-law, Shorty and Nancy Hall; brothers, Sam and Pete Gililland; sisters, Alice Smith, Dixie Tucker, and Lola Tucker; grandson, Tommy Leon (Lee) Hinkle.
The family finds comfort in knowing that the Lord has opened His gates wide for this cowboy, calf roper, team roper, and hunter.
A memorial service for Jess will be held in Alamogordo, NM on Monday, February 9, 2026, at 11:00 am at The Worship Center at the corner of Florida and 10th Street. A potluck will follow the service at the FOR Otero Event Center, 801 E 10th Street immediately following the service. Friends and family are invited to join in celebrating Jess’s life.
