Obituaries

OBITUARY: Charles (Don) Reese Oct. 3, 1941-Nov. 2, 2012

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Charles (Don) Reese, 71, of Austin, TX, formerly of Los Alamos, N.M., passed away suddenly Nov. 2, 2012.

Don was born Oct. 3, 1941 in Camden, AR. His family moved to White Rock in 1957 and Don graduated from Los Alamos High School in 1958.

He proudly served in the United States Marine Corps prior to hiring on at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Don retired from LANL after 42 years as an engineering tech. 

Don was preceded in death by his father, William Reese and brother, Kenneth Reese. Don is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Eric and Stephanie Reese; his daughter and son-in-law, Melissa Read More

OBITUARY: Henry J. Kavanaugh Jr. Dec. 12, 1956 – Nov. 4, 2012

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Henry John Kavanaugh, Jr. (Hammer), 55, rode away on Nov. 4, 2012. A lifelong resident of Santa Fe, he was the oldest of five sons, born in Los Alamos Dec. 12, 1956, to Isabel and the late Henry J. Kavanaugh, Sr.

Henry attended Santa Fe High School and became a heating, ventilation and air conditioning expert. Known as the “Doc”, he could fix anything. An avid biker, he had two Harleys and took many cross-country road trips. He enjoyed working on his house and in his yard, but valued and loved his family above all else. He had a nickname for everyone and made the best hash browns. His beautiful smile, sense Read More

OBITUARY: THOMAS ILG Sept. 9, 1958 – Nov. 2, 2012

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THOMAS ILG

Thomas Ilg of Los Alamos, N.M., passed away unexpectedly Friday Nov. 2, 2012. He died while perusing his passion of photographing the ruins of the Jemez Mountains.

He was born Sept. 30, 1958 in Suffern, N.Y. He was graduated from Northeastern University in Boston, Mass. in 1980 with an engineering degree.

He lived in the town of White Rock, with his wife Wendy, the love of his life for 17 years.

Tom was employed at Los Alamos National Laboratory for more than 20 years where he worked as a mechanical engineer.

He was an avid and accomplished photographer; he loved hiking, hockey, target shooting, Read More

OBITUARY: EDULIA ‘EDDIE’ BRIDGE Sept. 24, 1922–Oct. 15, 2012

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EDULIA ‘EDDIE’ BRIDGE Sept. 24, 1922–Oct. 15, 2012

Maria Edulia (Bustos) Bridge died peacefully Monday, Oct. 15, 2012, at Sombrillo Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Los Alamos.

She was known to her family and friends as “Eddie” and to her grandchildren as “Honey.”

Eddie was born in Polvaderas, N.M. Sept. 24, 1922 to Pedro and Rufina (Lucero) Bustos.

She graduated from Santa Cruz High School in 1940. During the early war years she worked at the Boeing aircraft factory in Seattle, Wash.

She returned to New Mexico and worked at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory for several years Read More

OBITUARY: BOB NUNZ 1939-Sept. 2, 2012

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Robert A. Nunz, 73, of White Rock, N.M., passed away peacefully Sept. 2 after a courageous battle with acute myeloid leukemia.

Bob was born in New York City March 5, 1939 to Sylvester and Elizabeth Nunz. He is the younger brother of Gregory Nunz, formerly of White Rock, now of Las Vegas, Nev.
 
Bob was employed as a Probation Officer for the City of New York serving in both Family and Criminal Courts and was promoted to supervisor and then to branch chief for the Borough of the Bronx.
 
He married Mary Carpenter in 1972. Upon their retirement in 1995, they relocated to White Rock.
 
Bob
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OBITUARY: Stella Arrowsmith April 24, 1923 – Aug. 31, 2012

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Stella P. Arrowsmith, 89, passed away Friday, Aug. 31, 2012 at Aspen Ridge Lodge. She was born Stefania Polec on April 24, 1923 to immigrants Josephine (Markowicz) Polec and Michal Polec in Enfield, Conn.

Stella attended Enfield Public Schools and also attended technical school in Hartford, Conn. Early on, Stella worked as a pattern setter at the Bigelow Sanford Carpet Company where she met her future husband Edward J. Arrowsmith.

They were married June 6, 1953 and enjoyed 54 years of marriage before Edward’s death in February 2008. Stella held a variety of jobs and had multiple interests including Read More

OBITUARY: JOSEPHINE WILLERTON June 7, 1921-Aug. 17, 2012

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Josephine Willerton, 91, of Los Alamos, N.M. (long-time Borger, Texas resident), died Friday, Aug. 17, 2012. She was recently a resident at Aspen Ridge Lodge.

Josephine Louise Hill was born June 7, 1921, in Cherryvale, KS, to Harold and Grace Hill. She met her future husband, W. R. “Mike” Willerton while attending Ponca City Junior College in Ponca City, Okla.

They married June 1, 1942, the day of her graduation from Oklahoma A&M College. While her husband served in the Army Air Corps during World War II, she worked in a lab for Continental Oil, developing airplane fuels. They moved to Borger, Read More

OBITUARY: CAROL ANN HANSON Jan. 4, 1943-Aug. 7, 2012

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Carol Ann Hanson. Courtesy/Hanson Family

Carol Ann Hanson passed away unexpectedly Aug. 7, 2012 in Houston, Texas, at the age of 69.

She was born on Jan. 4, 1943 in Los Angeles, Calif., to Julia and John Koenig, the first of four children.

Carol attended California State College at Northridge and UCLA, where she graduated with a degree in teaching English as a second language.

She was awarded a master’s degree in Latin American Studies from the University of Oregon in Eugene, where she met her husband David Hanson while working in the Physics Department.

They were married in Cove, Read More

OBITUARY: Jean Banta Balestrini April 2, 1926 – July 9, 2012

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Jean Banta Balestrini, 86, longtime resident of Los Alamos died July 9th, 2012, surrounded by family at Sombrillo Nursing home. She was born on April 2, 1926 in Los Angeles California to Francis and Mary Banta.

Jean Graduated from Fresno State College with a degree in education in 1948. She married Silvio J Balestrini June 22, 1948, in Berkley, California. Jean worked as a teacher and librarian while Silvio completed his PhD in physics at UC Berkeley. Jean and Silvio, with their 3-year-old son, John, moved to Los Alamos in June of 1954. In Los Alamos they raised four children. Jean was active in the Read More

OBITUARY: Elizabeth Caughran June 5, 1938 – July 18, 2012

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Elizabeth Anne Thomson Caughran, an extraordinary woman, was born June 5, 1938, in Glasgow, Scotland; she died July 18, 2012, in Los Alamos, New Mexico.

The daughter of Samuel and Alice Thomson, Anne had an adventurer’s spirit, leading her from the Honors Masters Program at the University of Glasgow to Kentucky in the 1960s for advanced studies; back to Scotland, where she met her husband Ken Caughran (a USAF pilot) at Prestwick; and to their deployment in Tripoli, Libya.

They returned to the States in 1965 and settled in Texas for a different sort of adventure and on to Los Alamos in the 1980s. After Read More