Clarence John Ubl

Ubl, Clarence John

He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Lee Ubl; daughter, Sandra McKee (Bruce); son, Jon Ubl; four granddaughters, Jennifer Ubl, Heather, Shauna McKee and Kelsey (McKee) Waldo.

Clarence was born the middle child of Alfred and Rose (Schneider)Ubl and grew up on the family farm in New Ulm, Minnesota with eight siblings, Johanna, Alphonse, Pauline, Leo, Charles, Ralph, Kathy and Marlowe.  At age 16 he joined a threshing crew and traveled the western states spending time in Eastern WA, Colorado and ending up on the Nunn Ranch in Deming, New Mexico working as a cowboy. In 1944 he was drafted into the U.S. Army where he became a paratrooper "because it paid $50 a month more". He was stationed in the Pacific where he was wounded and was awarded the Victory Medal, two Bronze Stars and the Purple Heart medal.

He returned to Deming, NM where he met the love of his life, Lee Zolezzi, a New York City native who came out to visit a friend. They were married on September 2, 1956 in St. Joseph's Church on 6th Avenue in Greenwich Village, NY. They moved to Arizona where Clarence and Lee ran the Klagetoh Trading Post on the Navajo reservation new Window Rock, AZ. Clarence, not enjoying working inside the store, later became the Light Plant Engineer for the Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs for the Navajo Nation. In the early 1960's they purchased a house and property in Corrales while visiting friends in Albuquerque. Lee later moved with their two small children to Corrales while Clarence remained on the reservation for another 6-8 months. He traveled back and forth every weekend by bus until he was able to transfer to a job with the Bernalillo County Indian Hospital in Albuquerque as a maintenance engineer.

He continued his love of farming and ranching working his hay fields and partnering with his brother Ralph in purchasing a farm near Princeton, Minnesota. For many years he traveled back to Minnesota to help with the fall harvest.

Clarence thoroughly enjoyed camping, fishing and hunting with family and friends. He kept busy working on vehicles and equipment and could fix and build just about anything! He loved and spent endless days and hours working with his son in Taos, NM building and restoring adobe houses and visiting his daughter in Oregon to help on McKee Family Farms. Other special times were those times spent with his granddaughters and going out to get ice cream treats! Clarence, with his quiet dignity taught his children, grandchildren and all those around him the value of hard work. His final days were spent at home with his devoted family members who will miss him dearly. A viewing will be held at 9:00 am with a service to follow at 10:00 am on Monday, February 10, 2020 at Daniels Family Funeral Services -Sara Rd. Chapel, 4310 Sara Rd. SE. A Committal service with Military Honors will take place at 12:45 pm at Santa Fe National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Armada hospice, 8814 Horizon Blvd Ste #300-A, Albuquerque, NM 87113. To view information or leave a condolence please visit www.danielsfuneral.com

Daniels Family Funeral Services

4310 Sara Road SE

Rio Rancho, NM 87124

505-892-9920