Manuel T. Bachicha

The Rosary for Manuel Bachicha, 66, of Portales, will be at 12:30 PM, Mon., Jan. 30, 2023, at St. Helen Catholic Church.  Mass of the Resurrection will be celebrated by Fr. Francisco Carbajal at 1:00 PM.  Burial will follow in the Portales Cemetery with Teofilo Rodriguez, Delbert Duran, Steven Conrad, Isidro Sanchez, Mario Salazar, Cameron Sena, Vale Sotelo, Jason Rocha and Zane Pena serving as pallbearers.  All of his nieces and nephews will be honorary pallbearers.

Manuel T. Bachicha was born Aug. 7, 1956, in Portales to the home of Julia Ann (Baca) and Alfredo T. Bachicha, and died at his home on Jan. 28, 2023.  Manuel graduated from Portales High School in 1975.  He went to work as a locksmith for Eastern New Mexico University.  In addition, his awesome green thumb enabled him to also work as a groundskeeper for the university.  He was employed at the university from 1975 until he retired due to health conditions.

Manuel was a loving son, brother and uncle.  He had 80 nieces and nephews along with 27 cousins.  His favorite pastime was aggravating the moms of those nieces and nephews by showing them to put a bowl of beans on their head.  Of course, he never cleaned up after them.  He also was talented at playing the spoons.  You would just have to be there to understand.

Manuel had a lung condition due to a car accident that pushed his diaphragm over his lung, but that never stopped him from enjoying life.  Manuel’s faith carried him through his last breath.

He is survived by four brothers, Phillip Bachicha and Chris Bachicha both of Portales, Joe Bachicha of Truth or Consequences, NM and Michael (Rhonda) Bachicha of Atlanta, GA; seven sisters, Veronica Pena and Inez (Teofilo) Rodriguez of Portales, Rita (Isidro) Sanchez of Odessa, TX, Patty Salazar, Kathy Vigil and Becky (Delbert) Duran all of Portales and Lucy (Kelly) Conrad of Ofallon, IL; and his 80 nieces and nephews.

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