Wilfredo Besse

With profound sadness, we announce the passing of our beloved Wilfredo Besse. Wilfredo "Will", a loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle, and brother, passed away unexpectedly on April 30, 2025, at the age of 85 years. He was born in Dilia, NM to Benito and Nestorita Besse.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Benito and Nestorita Besse, his brothers, Edward, Pete, and Pat, and his sisters, Fabiola, Jenny, and Julia Besse. 

His legacy lives on through his wife, Maria Besse, daughter, Gloria Besse, sons, Edward (Kathy) and Daniel Besse, grandchildren, La Tisha Martinez (Julian), Shirelle Quintana (Thomas), Mia Besse, Sara Besse, Daniel Jr Besse, Johnathan Besse (Marla), Ryan Besse, Alex Besse (Autumn), and great-grandchildren, Janae, Jada, Juliana Martinez, Brooklee and Mateo Quintana, and his last surviving brother, Louis Besse (Margie).

Will grew up helping his parents on the farm in Dilia, NM. He later moved to Lamar, Co where he met the love of his life Maria. Will met Maria during one of her softball games, pursued her, and never looked back! Within a year, he proposed, and they married one week later. In Lamar, they welcomed Gloria and Eddie before later moving to Albuquerque, NM where they welcomed Danny. In Albuquerque, Will worked as a custodian for APS for nearly 40 years. In his spare time, he enjoyed building the family cabin in Jemez Springs. The cabin started with a dream and a shed, and now stands a family 2-story treasure that is home to the annual mountainside Easter egg hunt held for all ages. Will and Maria spent many years taking their granddaughters, La Tisha and Shirelle, up to the cabin every weekend where they hiked, fished, went to Sunday morning church services, and played evening Yahtzee and cards. As more grandkids came along, more grandkids joined in on the weekend adventures.

Will also enjoyed his gardening. His backyard garden was known for an abundance of tomatoes, radishes, green chiles, and cucumbers. He also had enough apricots, nectarines, and cherries to share with the neighborhood.

One of Will's favorite pastimes was hunting. When his kids were small, he and Maria would take the family hunting in Corona, Jemez, and Mt. Taylor. There wasn't much that could keep him from hunting, including the birth of his first granddaughter (although he was sure to be the first visitor after she was born... before leaving for his hunting trip of course)! Will passed his love of hunting to his boys, who shared the love of the sport with their boys, and it remains a continued favorite pastime they participate in every year.

Every spring, Will was ready to feed his hummingbirds. His house and cabin were always adorned with feeders, and the hummingbirds all knew which house to stop at for the best feed.

A rosary will be held on May 23, 2025 at 9:30 am followed by a funeral service at 10:00 am. Services will be held at St Bernadette's Catholic Church. Reception to follow at FRENCH-Lomas. Graveside burial will be held in Dilia, NM at a later date for immediate family members.