Ian Massey Remembered as a Husband and Father After His Death While Working as a Lineman

 For one New Mexico family, a storm that disrupted electricity across the community has left behind a loss that cannot be repaired. Ian Massey went to work as a lineman for Farmers Electric Cooperative after heavy rain, helping restore a utility system damaged by the weather. He was a husband to Emily and a father to their young daughter, Cora, but he never made it home from that job.

According to the Curry County Sheriff’s Office, Ian was repairing a utility pole Friday after it had leaned out of position following heavy rain. Investigators said he reportedly came into contact with electricity while working, and the pole unexpectedly fell into several feet of standing water. The circumstances turned a routine response to storm damage into a fatal workplace accident that left his family and community grieving.

Firefighters responded and pulled Ian from the water, immediately beginning efforts to save his life. He was transported to a hospital for further treatment, but he did not survive his injuries. For the people who knew him, the news marked the sudden loss of a worker who had gone out during difficult conditions to help others regain a basic necessity they often notice only when it disappears.

Ian’s work as a lineman required him to face hazards that most people rarely see. When powerful storms damage poles and electrical infrastructure, crews like his are called into dangerous conditions to repair the systems that keep homes, businesses and communities connected. That responsibility brought Ian out following the heavy rain, where he was working to restore service when the accident occurred. His dedication now carries a painful meaning for those left behind.

The Curry County Sheriff’s Office described Ian as a dedicated lineman who lost his life while serving his community. His death has also affected the people who worked alongside him and members of Living Stones Community Church of the Nazarene, including its preschool. Those connections reflect a life that extended well beyond the worksite, touching colleagues, neighbors, church members and others who knew Ian through different parts of his life.

But for Emily, the loss is deeply personal in ways that a job description cannot capture. She is now facing the future without her husband, while their daughter, Cora, will grow up without the daily presence of her father. The family photograph shared by those remembering Ian offers a glimpse of the ordinary happiness that existed before the storm, making his sudden absence even harder to comprehend.

Ian’s death also highlights the risks utility workers accept when responding after severe weather. They work around damaged equipment, unstable structures, water and electrical hazards while communities wait for their lights to return. Ian was doing that kind of work when his life was cut short, leaving coworkers to mourn someone who had shared the demanding responsibility of helping people recover after the storm.

Now, the memories of Ian will become part of Cora’s childhood and Emily’s life as they learn to live with an absence they never expected. His family will have photographs, stories from coworkers and memories from the church community to help preserve the man he was beyond the circumstances of his death. Ian went out to help restore power for others, but the family waiting for him at home is now facing a darkness no repair crew can simply switch back on.