In Memoriam
We mourn the loss of these members of the Academy community.
To submit a notice, please email the alumni office.
Jenna Pickett ’09 died on May 3, 2023
James Carrell died on April 19, 2023. Read the obituary here.
Jada Gonzales ’23 died on December 18, 2022. Read the obituary here.
Maria Cristina Quiroga died on December 1, 2022. Read the obituary here.
George D. Buffett II ’82 died on November 7, 2022. Read the obituary here.
Albert G. Simms III ’62 died on October 5, 2022. Read the obituary here.
Stanley Steck ’72 died on September 30, 2022. Read the obituary here.
Gregory Jones ’79 died on September 3, 2022. Read the obituary here.
Brian O’Connor ’76 died on August 15, 2022. Read the obituary here.
Theodor Kircher III ’70 died on August 4, 2022. Read the obituary here.
James Foley ’67 died on July 8, 2022. Read the obituary here.
Zachary Blanchard ’20 died on April 11, 2022. Read the obituary here.
Dr. Eugene Lesser ’72 died in January 2022.
Daniel Charles Growney ’82 died on November 28, 2021. Read the obituary here.
Verne Huser died on November 18, 2021. Read the obituary here.
Isaac Shelby ’24 died on September 8, 2021. Read the obituary here.
Malcolm Hall ’10 died on August 20, 2021.
Coach Mike Brown died on June 30, 2021. Read the obituary here.
Susan Chipps ’81 Lupori died on April 24, 2021. Read the obituary here.
Esther Gonzales died on April 18, 2021. Read the obituary here.
Prantik Nath ’23 died on March 27, 2021. Read more here.
Stephen White ’01 died on March 21, 2021. Read the obituary here.
Deric Sinnott Hill ’70 died on March 12, 2021.
Larry Dean Willard, former member of the Board of Trustees, died on February 24, 2021. Read the obituary here.
Lynsey Gooding Horcasitas ’04 died on December 9, 2020. Read the obituary here.
Durwood “Rocky” Jones ’01 died on December 8, 2020. Read the obituary here.
Dr. David J. Ottensmeyer, former member of the Board of Trustees, died on November 8, 2020. Read the obituary here.
Niko Dellios ’10 died on November 1, 2020. Read more here.
David “Doc” Glidden died on September 27, 2020.
CJ Coffin (Cassandra Janette “CJ” Gulley) ’80 died on September 19, 2020. Read the obituary here.
Jeff Moredock died on August 1, 2020. Read more here.
Ken Hause died on July 18, 2020.
Hugh Rayburn died on July 16, 2020. Read more here.
David “Hans” Schoenburg ’05 died on June 30, 2020.
Edward “E.J.” Jackson ’88 died on December 31, 2019. Read the obituary here.
Jay Boyd ’66 died on October 15, 2019. Read the obituary here.
Garon Coriz ’04 died on July 13, 2019. Read more here.
Daniel Gorham ’68 died on June 26, 2019. Read the obituary here.
Julia Ransom ’83 died on May 15, 2019. Read the obituary here.
Albert Gallatin Simms II, school benefactor, died on April 21, 2019. Read the obituary here.
Barbara Kimberly Lilie ’93 died on March 14, 2019. Read the obituary here.
Michael (Mickey) Prokopiak, faculty member, died on February 15, 2019. A performing arts faculty member since 1980, Mickey taught theater courses in every division and in every discipline, from acting to tech to playwriting and directing. He also coached speech and debate and JV softball and served on the diversity and admission committees. His true love was directing students in plays and musicals, along with guiding students in their directing debuts. Many of these thespians followed their passion into college and beyond. Read the obituary here.
Estevan Manuel Tafoya ’05 died on January 13, 2019. Read the obituary here.
Barbara Young Simms, school benefactor, died on October 27, 2018. Read the obituary here.
Michael T. Friggens ’82 died on October 13, 2018. Read the obituary here.
Harvey Conklin ’76 died on August 22, 2018. Read the obituary here.
Lori Jordan Laflin ’94 died on May 30, 2018. Read the obituary here.
Timothy Varoz ’72 died on May 13. Read the obituary here.
Eric Mora ’95 died Feb. 7, 2018, in Louisville, Kentucky. Read the obituary here.
George Shaffer, former member of the Board of Trustees, died February 2, 2018. Read the obituary here.
Carlos Chavez ’93 died on January, 2018. Read the obituary here.
Daniel Hedges ’97 died on December 23, 2017. Read the obituary here.
Richard “Trip” Sonntag ’85 died October 27, 2017. Read the obituary here.
Samantha Paulette Zamora Peterson ’89 died on October 8, 2017. Read the obituary here.
Luke A. Barnett ’77 died on July 23, 2017. Read the obituary here.
Grant Bauer ’81 died on April 28, 2017. Read the obituary here.
TJ McOlash ’88 died on March 8, 2017 after a brief illness. Read the obituary here.
Gene Gardenhire, faculty member from 1962-1997, died on January 8, 2017. Gene retired from the Academy in ’97 after 35 years of teaching math and coaching, serving as the math department chair and also as the head of what was called the Upper School, namely grades 9 through 12, and enjoying his role as the first senior member of the faculty. Read the obituary here.
Matthew Wharton ’85 died December 1, 2016 after a brief illness. Read the obituary here.
Ronald Vincent Cordova ’76 died on September 13. Read the obituary here.
Daryl Duane Moellenberg ’74 died on May 11, 2016. Read the obituary here.
Bill Blueher ’69 died on Tuesday, March 29, in Telluride, CO. Read the obituary here.
Theresa Sagartz ’13 died March 9, 2016 at her off-campus home near Notre Dame. Read Notre Dame’s announcement here.
James Blair (JB) Newsome ’88 died on Monday, February 29. Read the obituary here.
Kurt Cobbett ’78 died December 26, 2015 in St. Helena, CA. Read the obituary here.
Scott Theiler ’15 died Friday, December 25, 2015 in Albuquerque. Read the obituary here.
Garry Davis, faculty member from 1984 to 2006, died suddenly December 21, 2015. Read the obituary here.
Joe Waters ’91 died Wednesday, December 23, 2015 immediately after an accidental fall at his home in Seattle, WA. Read the obituary here.
Christopher Schmidt-Nowara ’84 died suddenly on June 27, 2015 after a brief illness, while visiting his daughter in Paris, France. Read obituary or read a tribute from Tufts University, where Christopher was a professor of history.
Angela Mathew ’11 was killed in a traffic accident in New Jersey on February 10, 2014. Read obituary or read a tributefrom The Harvard Crimson.
Charles “Chuck” Ryan Price ’02 passed away on January 6, 2014. Read obituary
On December 16, 2013, John Doherty ’72 passed on in Albuquerque.
Read obituary
Ruth Rand, faculty member from 1991 to 2006, passed away on September 2, 2013 after a lengthy battle with breast cancer.
Read obituary
Former faculty member Bob McCannon died unexpectedly on August 23, 2013. Joining the Academy in 1975, Bob made a powerful impression on all of the students he taught in the classroom and coached in athletics. In 1993, Bob extended his impact around the country as the executive director of the New Mexico Media Literacy Project (now renamed the Media Literacy Project). In the words of Andrea Quijada, current executive director of the Media Literacy Project, “Bob touched thousands of lives in his role as executive director at MLP, and his legacy lives on in our current media literacy workshops today.”
On June 28, 2013, Sean Hopkins, past Academy tennis coach and non-profit leader, suffered a fatal heart attack.
Read obituary
Austin Hudson-Lapore ’10 drowned during a violent storm on June 12, 2013. “The world has lost a great mind and a great spirit with Austin’s passing,” said Albuquerque Academy Head of School Andrew Watson.
View remembrance website
