James Donavon Dellinger, a long-time resident of Clayton, passed away at his home in Albuquerque, NM on October 9th, 2026.

Funeral services will be held at the Clayton Methodist Church on Monday, October 26th, at 10:00 AM with Rev. Billy Rammage officiating. Interment will follow at the Clayton Memorial Cemetery by Hass Funeral Directors of Clayton.

Donavon was born in Clayton on August 22,1940, to Cecil and Eloise Dellinger. He was the oldest boy in a family that included an older sister, a younger sister, and a younger brother. Growing up, Donavon embraced his family’s farming and ranching lifestyle, and was an active and accomplished member of 4-H and FFA. In 1961, he was awarded the Degree of American Farmer at the National Convention of FFA, the highest degree conferred by the FFA at that time.

He graduated from Clayton High School in 1958, and attended college at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. He excelled at NMSU, participating on livestock judging teams, held memberships in the Block and Bridle club and the Blue Key National Honor Fraternity, and was elected to Who’s Who at NMSU, an honor that recognized “the outstanding one percent of undergraduate students in the development of scholarship and leadership.”

After graduating from NMSU in 1963, he returned to Clayton to resume the farming and ranching lifestyle that he loved. In 1966, he married Lue (Baird) Hudson, also a resident of Clayton. Their daughter Christie was welcomed the following year. During that time, he was instrumental in the creation and operation of the Draggin’ S cattle company and the Clayton Cattle Feeders.

In spite of the long hours that ranching demanded, Donavon made it a priority to serve the community in many other ways, being very involved in FFA and 4-H, serving as director of the Union County Chamber of Commerce, and serving on the school board, including several years as president. He served thirteen years as a supervisor for Northeastern Soil and Water Conservation District. He was also a founding member of the Union County Youth Supporters.

Then, in 1993, Donavon made a courageous mid-life career change. He moved to Texas, got a degree in Special Education from West Texas State University, and began teaching elementary school in Borger, Texas. While living in Borger, he met and married Diane Godwin, a resident of Amarillo, Texas. After teaching in Borger for three years, he moved to Amarillo and taught elementary and middle school students at Highland Park until he retired in 2012. In 2008, he was named Highland Park Teacher of the Year for the 2007-2008 school year.

After retiring from teaching, Donavon moved to Albuquerque to be closer to his daughter and her family. The last years of his life were spent coin collecting, keeping up on current events, landscaping, gardening, traveling to visit and celebrate friends and family, staying in shape at a local gym, making new friends in the community, attending local sport and music events, sharing his days with a faithful rescue dog named Danielle, and happily watching his grandsons grow into young men. He spent hours enjoying the “Sky Gallery” in Albuquerque. He looked for beauty in every tree, leaf, cloud, creature and human. And he always found it. He made us better because of who he was. He was just “one of the good ones”.

Of all his accomplishments and life experiences, he would say that his most valuable treasures were his friends and family. He embraced each one with the same fierceness, regardless of the generation. He embraced them as he did every person he met. Each person he met was an opportunity for kindness. He was just and fair and his patience was endless. He wondered, he studied and he made each conversation count. His fighting spirit was strong and forthright up until the end.

Donavon was preceded in death by his parents Cecil and Eloise Dellinger, his sisters Reba Ray Boyd and Waunell Dellinger, and his first wife Lue Dellinger.

SURVIVORS:

Donavon is survived by his daughter Christie Swayden and her husband Chad, their sons Caleb and Connor, and Caleb's wife Abby; his brother Kenny Dellinger and his wife Betty, and their daughters Lana, Kori, and Tara; his step-son Malcolm Hudson and his wife Sharon; his nieces Melissa Gage, Debra Wiley, Lue Anne Crist, and Paula Baker; his nephews Eric Wood and Craig Boyd; many great-nieces, great-nephews, great-great-nieces, and great-great nephews; and his former wife Diane Dellinger.