Johnny Cope was New Mexican to his core.
Although born in Midland, Texas, his family moved to Hobbs when he was an infant. Cope graduated from Hobbs High School in 1966, where he played varsity baseball, and subsequently attended Eastern New Mexico University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in finance and accounting.
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“He came back from college to work for a local oil and gas operator and then branched out and started his own construction business,” lifelong friend Sam Cobb, mayor of Hobbs, said Monday. “From there, he got into all kinds of oil field service companies and real estate investments.”