Jerry Ueckert, a strong advocate for Route 66, especially in New Mexico, died in Edgewood earlier this month. He was 71.
In a lengthy obituary in the Edgewood Independent newspaper, it reported he co-founded the Route 66 Chamber of Commerce with Bob Audette, Keith Matson and Bill Gilmore. He also was managing editor of New Mexico Route 66 magazine, published by the New Mexico Route 66 Association.
He also was part of RETRO-Relive the Route and was in charge of the Route 66 film festival for the 66 on 66 celebration in nearby Moriarty.
His passion for the Mother Road ran deep, said his daughter Mary Margaret Ueckert.
As owner of the Red Arrow Campground, which came to him through his parents, Tex and Fern Ueckert (who also owned a grocery store where Radio Shack used to be), he started a newspaper, The Advocate. His cause was promotion of Route 66 and of businesses in Edgewood. […]
His love of Route 66 “definitely tied in with the newspaper, Mary Ueckert said, adding that he loved “the Americana aspect of it all.” Owning the campground meant meeting “the interesting people who gave life to the Mother Road,” she said, adding, “My childhood was filled with all sorts of travelers with all sorts of stories from distant, not-New Mexican, lands.”
New Mexico Magazine posted on its Facebook page, “We’re saddened to hear of Jerry Ueckert’s passing. A true fan of New Mexico and especially Historic Route 66, he devoted countless hours to preserving the memory of Valentine Diners. We were lucky to share a moment with him and his tales of the Mother Road.” The post contains a link to a story, “Chrome-Plated: A Love for Valentine Diners.”
Indeed, the rare diner, produced in Wichita, Kansas in the 1940s, is one of a few remaining, according to Ueckert.
His daughter said he found it in Magdalena, and worked to renovate and restore it. The Valentine diner, which he dubbed The Red Top, is parked at Wildlife West, where she said it will remain for the time being to keep the piece of Route 66 memorabilia safe.
Mary Ueckert wrote an essay about her father that was published in an email by the New Mexico Route 66 Association:
I have so many amazing memories of he and I traveling all over the state to make paper deliveries and through him I developed a love for Americana, Route 66, and New Mexico history on the whole. He worked tirelessly to preserve Route 66 and all the things about the Mother Road that make it so special, shining a light on many of the colorful characters along the way because he, himself, was such a character.
He was incredible. He was one of a kind. There will never be another man like him and I know this loss will be felt by many people in the community he loved so dearly. Whether it was through the newspaper or Red Arrow Campground, through his work with various Route 66 organizations, or just through the simple act of talking to people, he touched lives everywhere he went and he was so incredibly loved.
A memorial service was held for Jerry Ueckert at Wildlife Nature Park in Edgewood.
A GoFundMe.com campaign was launched to help cover the family’s funeral and memorial costs:
(Image of Jerry Ueckert in front of his Valentine diner in Edgewood, New Mexico, courtesy of the New Mexico Route 66 Association)