HERMOSA -- According to Phyllis Word, her son Grady was "just an outstanding son."

"He will be greatly missed by all of us," she said Monday afternoon.

Grady Word, 49, was killed Saturday morning after being kicked in the head by a horse he had just delivered to a neighboring rancher.

Phyllis Word said horses were only one of her son's many interests.

"He was interested in so many things, and he's done a lot of things," she said.

Grady Word worked at a variety of jobs in his life, including working on drilling rigs in Wyoming and Colorado, helping his father with ranching and hauling mail, she said.

Recently, he worked with his wife on a horse-breeding program, according to his obituary.

Craig Nelson of Hermosa said he was a fellow horse enthusiast with Word and was with him the morning he died.

Nelson said Word was a "true Christian man, a soft, gentle man. When he would talk to you, his voice was soothing. The very worst day someone was having, when the person was done talking to Grady, it would be a better day."

He said that in addition to being a devoted Christian and horse enthusiast, Word was a good friend and family man.

"Horses were his passion, and his family and his devotion to the Lord. That was Grady's life," he said. "He was a helping person. All he ever wanted to do was help people."

Paul Luchsinger of Oklahoma said he considered Word "one of my best friends" and offered sentiments similar to Nelson's.

"He was the kind of guy that anyone who was in his presence, he left you feeling better than when you came in," he said.

Luchsinger said he met Word on the pro rodeo circuit and remembers playing cards with his wife, Susie, and Word and his wife, Kelli Word.

He also said Word helped him through several tough times.

"When I was in my lowest times, he was there to help me and comfort me and encourage me," he said. "The greatest thing I can say about him is he always encouraged me in my relationship with Jesus."

Phyllis Word said her son "made friends easily" and said many people who made his acquaintance have been telling her in the past few days how much her son meant to them.

"I was blessed by the people who came to express appreciation of what Grady meant to them," she said. "That is a healing process. You know that his life wasn't in vain. That, to me, is healing."

Phyllis said she also lost her other son, Don Clay, at a young age, which makes the loss more difficult.

"It's not easy to lose them at the age they are. I know they are with the Lord. That to me is a special blessing," she said.