About Us

“town was proclaimed the “Leap Year Capital of the United States” in 1998.” 

  Anthony is a border town with a capital ‘B’! Located in the southern part of New Mexico, it is quite near the Mexican border, but the border designation does not end there. The town itself straddles the border of Texas and New Mexico; in fact, a person can stand on Main Street and “leap” from one state to another and back again. Because of this, a very civically active lady named Mary Ann Brown who was a leap year baby herself, got a bright idea, and through the auspices of the Anthony Chamber of Commerce and then Senator Pete Domenici, the town was proclaimed the “Leap Year Capital of the United States” in 1998. Folks with leap year birthdays have come from as far away as Australia to take part in celebrations held in our little border town!

The border theme doesn’t really end there though. In 1923, two far-sighted, civic-minded people, Charles F. Miller and his wife Jeanette Adams Miller, looked at a piece of desert that they owned on the outskirts of the lazy border town, and decided to split it in half and donate it to two different entities, but both to be used as a cemetery. The eastern most part went to the Catholic Church and became St. Anthony’s Catholic Cemetery. The parcel just to the west, was given to the Anthony Masonic Lodge, and is now known as the Anthony Community Cemetery. Just like the state line that runs through the town, the line between the two cemeteries can be easily stepped over and the delineation is one of character or appearance more than anything else. St. Anthony’s is a beautiful riot of brightly colored flowers, closely-spaced graves with a variety of headstone sizes and shapes, while the Community side is grass covered with
more uniform headstones.
Fund raising activities crossed organizational borders as well when the Anthony Rotary Club began annual fish fry dinner events to help the community cemetery. Held in different places over the years, these dinners saw farmers, bankers, teachers among others sweating over huge vats of hot oil full of fish. Others made mountains of coleslaw, cooked frijoles, or served the food with even children helping out and everyone having a great time doing it. Permanent funds raised this way are still helping the cemetery today.

We are simply a non-profit organization

It is said that the only constant in life is change, but the one thing that has never changed, and crosses all borders when it comes to the Anthony Community Cemetery is the spirit of volunteerism. From donating things such as the sign at the front, to the gates at the entrances, to providing free labor and equipment for grounds keeping, to being the “face” of the cemetery and meeting with people to buy plots or plan funerals, volunteers have always played a huge part. Today, that spirit lives on in the all-volunteer board of directors who meet regularly to run the cemetery business and whose members oversee maintenance, sales, helping with funerals and many other vital functions. Community members are also involved when they become part of the group who help conduct funerals at the cemetery. There are, of course, challenges that must be met. There is a misconception that our cemetery is what is known as a “perpetual care” cemetery. This is not, however, the case. To some, this seems to carry with it the idea that the cemetery will just magicallybe taken care of for all time, while the term actually refers to a cemetery that is registered with the State of New Mexico and must comply with the mountain of State regulations that go along with it. It can also mean that there are regular upkeep fees by the plot owners or their families. We are simply a non-profit organization. 

One mission of the Board of Directors is to keep costs as affordable as possible, and, so far, we have managed to meet this challenge, our prices being well below others in the area. Our major source of income is plot sales, but another very important source is donations. Whether a donation is made just to the cemetery in general, in memory of a certain person, or even requesting in an obituary that donations may be made to the cemetery, each and every one is very much appreciated. All gifts are acknowledged with a thank you note that serves as a receipt, because, as we are a 501-C13 non-profit, they are tax deductible. It is important to keep this important part of our city’s infrastructure, where the border between past and the future dissolve, the tranquil place it is for years to come.

Board of Directors

Linda McNamee

Betty Ann Seiler

Jim Hastings

Mark Atchley

Dan Darbyshire

Reba Eoff

Dorothy Espedal

Ernest Espedal

Fernie Herrera

Gabriel Holguin