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Emil. Yesterday, we mourned the loss of a man who gave legitimacy to our state's mantra, the Land of Enchantment. For 27 years Emil Burbridge founding President and CEO of Di-Cor Custom Homes, peppered our hills and valleys with homes for many of our high profile residents that gave new meaning to the term custom home. With his innovative architecture that brought the concrete Grecian pillars, Mediterranean red tile roofs, and Southwestern arches that now embellish most homes seen as high New Mexican style and his extreme hands-on craftsmanship that pursued nothing less than perfection, this New Mexican resident for over 60 years was no less than a state treasure. In his early years, his family traveled around New Mexico as his father looked for new construction jobs. As a small child he lived in Las Vegas, N.M. and Santa Fe, but his family finally put down roots in Albuquerque where Emil attended Wilson Junior School and Hiland High School. After graduation high school he served our state in the New Mexico National Guard and the Albuquerque Police Department. Before starting his own custom home company, he worked on the construction of several New Mexican landmarks including the Ruidoso Downs and the Sandia Tram. With his wife Sandra at his side, he began his home building career renovating FHA homes. As his homes became more prominent he had one goal in mind, to exceed his client's dreams. And according to those still living in Di-Cor homes, he always did. One home in particular, a Southern plantation nestled at the bottom of the Sandia mountains, got special recognition by industry newspapers and magazines. His homes now sit all across our land in Tinnin Farms, Tanoan, Glenwood Hills, Sandia Heights as small beacons to one New Mexican's artistry and passion. He retired in 2000 and lived in a home he built on Ute Lake in Logan NM, where he spent the last years of his life working on his second passion, fishing with his grandchildren. According to his wife, he often said he never quit building he just put out a sign that said gone fishing. Though Emil loved his profession, his real love was for his family, friends and Jesus Christ. He was a member of Berean Baptist Church for over 20 years and his closest surviving family members include his wife Sandra; his two daughters, Diana and Corena (for which his company DiCor was named after); and six grandchildren all rest with the assurance he is at peace with the Lord now, adding new style and flare to the mansions awaiting us all.
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