Denton, after which she moved
to Dallas, where she was a
counselor at the Highland Park
Middle School.
The Tweedy and Duncan
families had known each other
in Fort Davis since the 1950s.
Joe Duncan’s dad owned the
Hotel Limpia, and Lanna’s
parents lived at the old fort,
which “Bish,” as her dad was
called, was intent on preserv-
ing.
In 1978, the Tweedy family
moved back to Fort Davis from
Ligonier. Joe and Lanna were
married in front of the fort, by
then dedicated as a national
historic site, in 1983.
A decision that was to make
major changes to Lanna’s and
Joe’s lives came in 1991.
Relishing a challenge and
believing in the tourism poten-
tial, they bought the Hotel
Limpia from Joe’s parents.
They were now in the hospital-
ity business, an enterprise that
would engage them for 20
years, make them the principal
hoteliers in the region and
require 16-hour workdays. The
hotel was upgraded (42 rooms
today), and six guest houses
were later acquired.
Their son Malcolm was
born in 1993. He is currently a
senior at Idyllwild Arts
Academy in Palm Springs,
Calif. studying film production.
He has worked with Mark
Mathis, co-producer of the
Oscar-nominated Precious. His
parents are “excited and
proud” for him and last year
drove to California 10 times to
visit him.
In March 200l, they bought
the Hotel Paisano, a Marfa
hotel designed by architect
Henry Trost, at an auction,
almost on a whim. By that
Thanksgiving, 11 rooms were
ready. In 2009 they bought
another Trost-designed proper-
ty, the Hotel El Capitan in Van
Horn, which had most recently
been a bank, and restored it
handsomely.
The purchase of the Stone
Village Motel in Fort Davis fol-
lowed, with the imaginative
installation of “camp rooms.”
Finally, the adjacent Stone
Village Market was acquired
and upgraded to include a deli
and whole foods and is thriving.
Gracious as hospitality pro-
fessionals, they are tireless hard
workers, ever mindful of their
staff, whom they treat as family.
They are equally committed to
the community, working with
the Fort Davis Chamber of
Commerce and the school
board, the scout troop and the
Presbyterian Church and its
project Casa Hogar in
Ojinaga, Mexico, a shelter for
homeless children.
“C
hange is good – it’s
what makes us
move forward,”
said Leo Dominguez, leaning
forward to add emphasis. We
were sitting in his office at Sul
Ross State University, where he
is associate vice president for
advancement and university
relations. He had just been
assigned a second job: dean of
student life.
Born on April 4, 1954 in
Stanton, Texas, near Midland,
to Isidoro (“Lolo”) and Virginia
Dominguez, Leo was the sec-
ond of four children. His sib-
lings – Diana, Tommy and
younger sister Bernice – all of
whom still live locally. His
father was a skilled carpenter
who moved around the region.
Later, the family settled in
Alpine, and Leo grew up help-
ing his dad build houses.
The Dominguez family
lived in “Pueblo Nuevo” on the
south side of the railroad
tracks. Leo’s first job as a fifth
grader was setting up the pins
in the bowling alley on the Sul
Ross campus. He loved going
to school – first to Centennial
School, then later Alpine High
School – and was a social per-
son. Team spirit impressed him
hugely and was to serve him
well in adult life.
In 1972 he was picked to go
to Texas Boy’s State, a one-
week course in government at
the University of Texas at
Austin. This caused him to
choose government as his
course of study when he start-
ed at Sul Ross in 1973. Twenty-
one years later, this interest
prompted him to start, with
some other farsighted citizens,
Leadership Big Bend, which
continues successfully today.
In 1976, while still at Sul
Ross, he was elected to Alpine’s
city council. He graduated with
a B.A. in political science in
May 1977. After a year at
North Arizona University in
Flagstaff, he returned to
Alpine, where he worked as
director of housing at Sul Ross
from 1978 to 1979 before com-
pleting his master’s degree in
public administration in 1984.
He married Elsa Ceniceros in
Marfa on July 14, 1979 – “the
best thing I ever did.” They
have three daughters: Maritza,
Ariana and Alesandra, who
live in El Paso, Florida and
Austin respectively.
After Sul Ross, Leo wanted
a challenge. Thus he started a
13-year career with General
Telephone and Electronics
(GTE), which moved him
quickly into the higher eche-
lons of the corporate world. He
was a natural salesman; selling
to him was a “dream.” But
GTE was breaking up, and,
having pulled off a big contract
in Venezuela, he took a well-
paid buy out in1994 and came
home to Alpine.
He returned to Alpine,
reconnecting with small-town
life and values, and started his
own business called Fashion
Express, a women’s clothing
store. After two years he found
his shop squeezed out by com-
petition, and he closed down.
Fortuitously, Sul Ross was look-
ing for a director of develop-
ment, which he describes as
basically a selling job – but one
selling the dream of education
and a better life.
He was the first Hispanic
president of the Alpine
Chamber of Commerce, and
he currently serves on the gas
board. He strongly believes in a
bright future for Sul Ross once
the present budgetary restric-
tions are addressed and a path
forward established.
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