Gone but not forgotten

It look nearly 80 years, but little Jimmie Rudolfo Solano finally has a headstone at his grave in Tucumcari Memorial Park cemetery.

Jimmie, who was less than six months old, died on Aug. 31, 1944, while suffering from a fever and was buried at the cemetery without a marker.

Thanks to the efforts of his older sister and other relatives, they raised money to commission a gravestone and placed it there a few weeks ago.

On Saturday morning, about two dozen of Jimmie's relatives gathered as the Rev. Johnpaul Afuecheta, priest of St. Anne's Catholic Church in Tucumcari, blessed the plot and headstone with holy water and prayer.

Dolores Derrera, Jimmie's older sister who lives in Colorado, said in a telephone interview the previous week she anticipated only five or six relatives would arrive for the ceremony.

Instead, about 25 showed up, including those coming from Texas and Colorado.

"I'm overwhelmed, and I'm so thankful it finally got done," Derrera said Saturday after the short ceremony. "I know that I wanted to cry with happiness."

Derrera said her mother Maria Juanita, who moved with her husband Candelario away from Tucumcari not long after Jimmie died, wanted to save money to eventually buy a tombstone for her son, but it never was done.

The impetus to finally commission a gravestone for Jimmie happened about three months ago when a cousin died and was interred in Tucumcari Memorial Park. Those who attended the funeral tried and failed to find Jimmie's gravesite because it still remained unmarked.

Derrera's sister Mary Martinez of Eaton, Colorado, and her husband John not long after that found the location of Jimmie's grave, then commissioned the stone from Fort Sumner Monuments for $387. Several relatives chipped in money to help defray some of the cost.

Derrera's daughter Edna Derrera-Stanley of Fort Collins, Colorado, helped straighten flower arrangements at Jimmie's gravesite before the ceremony Saturday. She said she named a son after him.

Martinez said she obtained Jimmie's death certificate, which stated he died of "heat exposure due to infection."

A five-paragraph article in the Sept. 1, 1944, edition of the Tucumcari Daily News reported Jimmie's death. It stated he died in the family home at 402 W. Aber St. about 9 p.m. the day before. Dunn's Funeral Home handled the arrangements, with services at St. Anne's Catholic Church.

Martinez said years later, her mother told her he was prescribed a drug from a local pharmacy for his fever. She said a pharmacist mistakenly gave the infant an adult dose of the drug. Jimmie fell unconscious and never woke up.

Jimmie's older brother, Cormel Charles, was 4 years old at the time of the death but held no memories of him. Derrera, who was 2 at the time, stunned her mother years later as a teenager when she recalled specific memories of Jimmie.

"'Mom, I remember we had to step up into a bedroom, and he was sitting on the floor,'" Derrera told her mother. "'I was watching him so he wouldn't fall down that step. I remember the bed had a white bedspread with little bumps on it.' My mother said, 'I do remember having a white chenille bedspread; I guess you do remember.'

"I remember he was light-complected, and he was a little chubby."

Derrera recalled nothing about his death or funeral, however.

After the ceremony Saturday, Derrera said she was pleased and relieved.

"I'm sure my mother is in heaven, and I'm sure she's very, very happy," she said. "She wanted this for so long. I know she's smiling.

"I'm smiling, too."