Dawn Thigpen

Dawn Thigpen was born April 28, 1969 to Donald (Pug) Thigpen and Dixie (Penny) Thigpen in Artesia, NM. She passed away in Roswell, NM at the age of 55 after a lengthy illness.

As part of the fourth generation of the family farm, Dawn and her sisters, Lyn and Kim, grew up surrounded by the love of their great grand parents, grand parents, parents and the Cottonwood Community. As a child, Dawn was curious and full of mischief. Typical of the youngest child, Dawn got great pleasure aggravating her sisters and cousins during their summers at the farm. She had a love for dogs and either had one, wanted one or was getting one. As the youngest of three, she kept her mom and dad on their toes.

Dawn graduated from Artesia High School and after High School, she married and moved to Phoenix, AZ where she had her son Dustin Ford. She then moved to Lubbock, TX and onto Artesia where she remarried and had her daughters, Tori and Lexi Cockrum. Dawn later moved to Portales, and then Roswell, where she received her Bachelor of Science degree and worked as a paralegal. Dawn continued her career, moving to Denver, CO to be near her son. She eventually returned to Roswell to work and be near her parents.

Dawn leaves behind her son Dustin Ford of Glencoe, NM, Tori Roper (Jake) of Denton, TX, daughter Lexi Cockrum of Fort Worth, TX, brother in law Jerry Harrison and her sister, Kim Klein (Jeff) of South Springs acres, NM.

She was preceded in death by her father, Pug, her mother, Penny and her sister, Lyn Harrison.

A memorial will be held in the Fall of this year.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to: Cure Alzheimer’s Foundation 34 Washington St., Suite 310 Wellesley, MA 02481 curealz.org/donate

“Each one of us here today will at one time in our lives look upon a loved one who is in need and ask the same question: We are willing to help, Lord, but what, if anything, is needed? For it is true we can seldom help those closest to us. Either we don't know what part of ourselves to give or, more often than not, the part we have to give is not wanted. And so it is those we love and should know who elude us. But we can still love them—we can love completely without complete understanding.” —Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It