Underneath his ‘gruff’ exterior was a caring man with an acumen for business

Today Jess Landers would have celebrated his 91st birthday.

Landers died in late April this past year with little fanfare surrounding this death. An obituary didn’t appear in the local newspaper – because that’s what he wanted.

Born in Clovis, N.M., he moved with his family to California when he was 10. When he turned 18, he joined the Air Force because he didn’t want to get drafted into the Army.

His years in the military served him well during his time in England and Spain. He found his lovely wife, Yvonne, during his military assignments overseas. She didn’t like him at first, but his persistence paid off. The couple married in England before they headed back to the states.

His military service took him all over the world. But there was one place he always had called home … New Mexico. He wanted to get back to the place he loved as a youngster. Lucky for him, his last assignment was in Albuquerque at Kirkland Air Force base.

Two weeks before he retired from the Air Force, he took a job at the VLA. He commuted back and forth to Albuquerque before settling in Socorro. It was here where he found his first business opportunity when he purchased Graceland Trailer Park. It was there that he began to forge ideas for other business opportunities.

But what can’t be tossed aside is his contributions to the lives of many former employees whom he made a difference in their lives, or his many benefactions made to the local community.

Landers may have seen like a ‘gruff’ man. To the Torres sisters, Nancy and Michelle, his gruffness to many was overshadowed by his generosity to others.

“Jess was a man with a big heart,” Michelle said. “Once you got to know him, he was a very generous person.”

While he worked at the VLA, he also looked for business opportunities in Socorro. One of those first business opportunities was Graceland Trailer Park and later the town’s lone taxi service.

“He started the taxi it was a very unknown business, but he invested in it and it just grew it to be successful. He just had a knack for knowing what businesses would work,” said Michelle.

“He’d offer rides to Albuquerque back in the day for $5,” said Nancy. “And he started talking to other taxi companies, they suggested he check into doing Medicaid transportation … and he did it.”

Suggestions from others and his business acumen allowed Landers to get into the restaurant business.

“He always wanted to open a restaurant,” said Michelle. “But he wanted it to be a ‘Triple A’ restaurant … one with class. He got many of his ideas from the Hilton as well as some of ideas for cooking.”

Keeping the businesses busy, Landers depended on people like the Torres sisters, who thought of him not only as their boss but as a friend as well.

Everyone morning Landers would have breakfast at El Camino where he knew almost every waitress by name and order his usual fare of biscuits and gravy. When Christmas came around, those favorite waitresses would always get a card with a little extra money inside.

The Torres sisters also remembered Lander’s kind heart when people were in crisis.

When he heard the news of a woman’s house burning down, he offered her a job and she ended up becoming his right-hand person at the business. Another time, when a family’s house burned down, he wanted to donate a house to them.

When school was getting ready to start, Landers would tell the sisters to find three families for him so he could help purchase school clothes for the children.

His generosity for the unfortunate or underserved was fueled during his time in service when he help feed people in Vietnam where he was known as the ‘Biscuit Man’.

Nancy explained when he was driving on to the base, he would see about 10 Vietnamese women working. He said there were skin and bones. So Landers would make his way to the mess hall to get 10 biscuits and put bacon in them. Then he’d wait and park and he’d see them, he gave them the biscuits to eat.”

He loved serving in the military, but he also liked helping people out, Michelle said. Landers also had a knack for helping down on their luck.

Hannah Cooper met Landers when she was looking for a job. “He initially told me, no,” she said. “Then two weeks later he called me asked me if I knew anything about mechanic shops. When I told them that is what I went to college for. He kind of just threw me in the mix and I worked fixing cars.”

He also gave her the courage to open X Automotive on the corner of California and Spring Street.

Tim and Melissa Gutierrez met while working for Landers. Melissa started working at the Taxi Company when her mom worked for Landers. She was only 12-years old. “I worked for years for the transportation company and took care of the tow truck paperwork.”

“That’s where I met Melissa,” said Tim. “We were working together, then starting dating. I guess you could say I was at the right place at the right time.”

Tim happened to visit the office looking for a job, when the company lost its tow truck driver in an altercation with the police. That’s when Jess looked me over, and asked if I had a clean record and a CDL license. That’s when I went to work for him.”

Now working for years for Landers, the Gutierrez’ operate Quick and Easy Towing and Tim Wrecker service, in the same building as Cooper.

All three have great respect for Landers, he helped them find their niches in life.

“Jess had a way with words and good common sense,” said Tim. “You know how he described luck? Opportunity and preparation. He was a tough man, but he was willing to help his close friends 100 percent. He saw the best in people and had a good heart.”

He gave people a chance when they were down on their luck.

“I’ve been clean seven years, and most of those years are probably attributed to him (Landers),” said Cooper.

“He cut me a chance and being the one person that believed in me when nobody else did,” she said. “I think he did that for a lot of people, whether they succeeded or not was on them. But he believed in people.”

For the Torres’ sisters, the Gutierrez family and Cooper, they believe there’s an angel on their shoulders helping them make this community a better place to live.

“It takes a whole community to bring things back together,” said Tim. “It also takes a community to support local businesses. That’s something Jess believed in. He could always point us in the right direction.”