Melba Eitniear , 1929–2023

MELBA EITNIEAR Melba Eitniear, 93, of Sweetwater, Texas, died July 26, 2023 at her home.

As she requested, there will be no memorial service, and her cremains will be buried beside her husband in the Dawson County Cemetery at Lamesa, Texas. Arrangements are under the direction of McCoy Funeral Home.

Eitniear was born November 13, 1929, near Lamesa, Texas, to Clay and Odessa Jones Cower. She graduated from Lamesa High School in 1946 and Hendrick Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in Abilene, Texas, in 1949.

Prior to marrying Oscar A. Eitniear on 19 August 1958 in Rising Sun, Ohio, she was employed by hospitals in Lamesa and Post, Texas. The Eitniears moved from Toledo, Ohio, to the Hobbs, N.M., area in 1962. Oscar died on 30 December 2000.

In 1974 when the profession of physician assistant was in its infancy, Eitniear was among a very small nationwide group of registered nurses to qualify for and pass the national certification examination for Physician Assistant. She worked at Yoakum County Hospital in Denver City, Texas, for 15 years before retiring in 1978.

While living near Hobbs, N.M., she was a member of Taylor Memorial Baptist Church, the American Nurses Association, the Southeastern New Mexico Genealogical Society, the Lea Regional Hospital Auxiliary, and the Senior Center. She enjoyed numerous crafts, oil painting, travel and family research. A result of combining travel and family research was her publication of the history of her paternal family. Sweetwater, Texas, became her home in 2015. Since moving there, she has belonged to Trinity Baptist Church.

Survivors include a sister, Bernice Waldrop, and Jan Andrews, widow of her nephew Don G. Andrews, both of Sweetwater. One great-niece and two great-nephews in the Fort Worth area also survive. Memorials are suggested to Trinity Baptist Church Building Fund, 1503 Crescent Dr. Sweetwater, TX 79556, or to a charity of the donor’s choice. Online condolences may be expressed at www.mccoyfh.com