Obituaries, Feb. 2008 - present

[Note: in cases where donations may be made to New Mexico Tech, the address is: Advancement Office, New Mexico Tech, 801 Leroy Place, Socorro, NM 87801.]

Charles Cardwell, a 1951 graduate of the New Mexico School of Mines with a degree in mining engineering, passed away in October 2003 in Sonora, Calif.

John D. Grimsley age 84, passed away in New Caney, Tex., on April 24, 2008. He was a 1949 graduate of New Mexico School of Mines, with a degree in metallurgical engineering. He worked for the Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C., and the Naval Ordnance Laboratory in White Oak, Md., before retiring from the Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA) in Greenbelt, MD.

He is survived by his wife of nearly 59 years, Harriet (Pat) Evans Gimsley of the home; one daughter, Anne Friedrich (George) of Kingwood, TX; three sons, Charles (Hilda) of California, MD, Larry, of North Charleston, SC and Michael and his fiancé, Kristen, of Leonardtown, MD.

Edwin R. Haseloff, age 69, passed away on Tuesday, January 15, 2008, at the Lincoln County Medical Center in Ruidoso. He earned his Master of Science Teaching degree at New Mexico Tech in 1979. He was a science teacher and track coach in Cloudcroft for 25 years, retiring in 1991.

Joseph S. Horton, a 1948 graduate of the New Mexico School of Mines, passed away on March 1, 2008 at Marian Medical Center in Santa Maria, CA.

Joe was born January 20, 1920 in Hawarden, Iowa. He was educated in Minneapolis, Indianapolis, and New York State. He then entered New Mexico School of Mines in 1939, but his pursuit of his degree was interrupted twice. First, he was on an extended dory fishing trip in the Baring Sea, on a four-masted sailing schooner out of Seattle. Second, he served in the Army Air Corps as a pilot flying out of England during World War II. Joe received his bachelor's degree in geological enginering in 1948.

His early mining experience was in mining camps in Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada. He moved to Santa Maria in 1955. At this location he was involved in mineral exploration, mine development and many operations. For over 30 years he carried out extensive exploration and drilling projects in the western United States. He evaluated potential mining opportunities worldwide.

He was a member of the Society of Mining Engineers and the Board of Directors of the New Mexico Mining Association for many years. He was also a member of the Rancho Maria Golf Club.

His survivors include his sons Joe Horton Jr. of Smith, Nev., Glenn Horton of Gardnerville, Nev., and Paul Horton of Santa Maria, Calif., daughter, Kristin Bush of Houston, Tex., and sister Kathleen Conrad of Chatham, Mass. Six grandchildren and five great grandchildren also survive.Joseph S. Horton, age 88, passed away March 1, 2008 at Marian Medical Center in Santa Maria, CA.

David R. Jones, a 1972 alumnus, passed away on March 28, 2008, at the age of 61. He was at the controls of his fishing boat, the Catch and Keep, as he and a friend headed out the Anclote River of Florida, bound for the Gulf. Jones was was an avid sportsman, hunter and fisherman. He especially enjoyed overnight float trips with his children and friends on the streams in Ozark County, Mo., his wife's home, and fishing on the Gulf of Mexico.

After earning a doctorate degree in chemistry in 1976 from the University of Missouri, David worked in industrial and research positions in New Jersey, Ohio, Texas and Florida. With Owens-Corning, and later with the U. S. government-funded Strategic Highway Research Project, he developed and shared expertise in asphalt-chemistry research and was instrumental in developing an asphalt-chemistry performance specification that now is used on highways throughout the United States and internationally. Since 1993, he and his family have lived in Tampa.

David was born October 16, 1946, in Panama City, Fla. On December 19, 1974, in Columbia, Mo., he married Sue Ann Luna of Gainesville, Mo. They have two children, Sam, a doctoral candidate in chemical engineering at the University of Florida, and Reagan, a third-year medical student at the University of Miami. He is survived by his wife and children, and one sister, Susan Jones, of Albuquerque.

Milly O'Connor, a longtime member of the President's Club, passed away on March 15, 2008. Milly and her husband Gene were much-appreciated supporters of New Mexico Tech. They are survived by their daughter, Cat (96, BS)

Zane Spiegel age 81, passed away at home on February 25, 2008. He earned his Ph.D. in hydrology at New Mexico Tech in 1962

Zane was a Fulbright scholar, professor, and consultant in several countries over his distinguished career. He graduated from the University of Chicago and then earned his doctorate at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. Beginning in the 1950s, he worked for the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer and the U.S. Geological Survey.

He was an outspoken and active crusader for the protection of scarce water supplies. His work was instrumental in getting the EPA to designate the Española Basin as a sole source aquifer.

Zane is survived by his brother, Sidney, and sister-in-law, Marilyn; sons; Austin and Evan; and longtime companion Nancy Hdydock.

Allan G. Tomlinson, a 1958 graduate in chemistry, passed away in April of 2006. No further details were available.

Tom Zimmerman, Tech's longtime chief of Campus Police, was killed on March 24, 2008, in a vehicular accident.

NOTE: Services for Tom Zimmerman were held at 10 a.m., Friday, March 28, at Macey Center. His family has requested that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to a charity of one's choice.

Zimmerman was traveling southbound on a motorcycle on I-25, when he was hit by a northbound vehicle that had traversed the median at mile marker 156, after having first sideswiped a semi truck also traveling southbound. The driver, identified as Deborah Hughes, 48, of Mesa, Arizona, also died in the accident; she was reported to be a cousin of Zimmerman.

Zimmerman was a former Socorro County Sheriff who was named chief security guard at New Mexico Tech in 1975. He was promoted to Director of Campus Police in 1987 and retired from the post in 1999. Many Tech alumni remember Zimmerman as the friendly but firm police officer they could rely on in difficulties. (See Tom Zimmerman Retires from Campus Police.)

"When I came (to New Mexico Tech), the department was not a police department; it was a security department," said Zimmerman in a 1999 article on his impending retirement.

"The six security officers did things like unlock doors for people. We had no vehicles or radios. My first office was a broom closet in the basement of the Speare Building, which was the library then. When we were needed, we were summoned by a light on top of Workman Center," he said.

Zimmerman set about making changes. "Whenever I got a chance to hire someone, I would hire a certified police officer," he said. "When I had several on board, I requested the administration to ask the Board of Regents to approve making us an official police department. That happened, and the state authorized us as an official police department in 1981."

Zimmerman was a straight-talking man of his word, the kind of man who set an example for others to follow. Zimmerman carried his tall frame easily, looking as if he was born to wear a cowboy hat. Droll and congenial, his easy-going personality endeared him to everyone he met, but when he pulled himself up to his full height and met you eye-to-eye, he was a force to be reckoned with.

Billy Romero, a career law enforcement officer and current Director of New Mexico Tech's Campus Police Department, worked for Zimmerman for 10 years at the university, and also knew him from his years with the Socorro Police Department, when Zimmerman was sheriff.

"He was a very, very fair boss, very well respected and admired by many. I never saw him a bad mood, ever," Romero said.

"Tom was a very good man, one of the best I've ever known, and I've known a lot of them," said Ramon "Sonny" Baca, also a former Socorro County Sheriff.

"He was a very good sheriff, very fair and impartial, always willing to help people," Baca said.

Services for Zimmerman are pending. He is survived by his wife, Sally Ann, of Lemitar, son Ty and daughter Kim.