 ROMERO, BOLESLO M. "LOLO" 1917-2014 Boleslo M. Romero, "Lolo", age 96, a resident of Los Lunas, NM, passed away in an auto accident near Los Lunas, NM on Wednesday morning, May 21, 2014. Boleslo was born in 1917 and raised in Los Lunas, NM. Boleslo attended school in Los Lunas and later served in the Civilian Conservation Corps (the CCC Camps) at the end of the Depression. After leaving the CCC Camps, he enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II. Soon after his enlistment, he transferred to the U.S. Army Air Corps which later became the U.S. Air Force. He flew in the U.S. Fifteenth Air Force as a flight engineer out of North Africa and later in Italy. His bomber group, the 454th Bombardment Group, was involved in a number of dangerous missions which included the bombing of the Ploesti Oil Fields in Romania and the German aircraft factories in Austria. He received the rare distinguished unit citation from the President of the United States for the B-24 raid over the German Messerschmitt factory at Bad Vaslau, Austria in April 1944 which greatly contributed to the fall of the Third Reich. The DUC is only awarded to a handful of combat units for rare gallantry in the face of enemy fire. Boleslo was only required to fly 24 missions but flew 28 instead. He was on his way back to the front for a second tour of duty when the war ended in Europe. He was a highly decorated airmen who served his country like so many others of his generation. He was very proud to be a veteran and he was wearing his favorite Fifteenth Air Force baseball cap when he died. It was a remarkable generation that survived the Great Depression and the World War. This generation valued honesty, hard work, and being responsible, helpful, and fair. They learned to give so very much at an early age and they learned the joys of service to others and to a grateful nation. They risked their very lives that we may now all live and breathe in a free country. We will sorely miss them. After the war, Boleslo married Dora M. Debaca from Jemez, NM who was in the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps during the war and later, a school teacher first in Jemez then Corrales for Sandoval County and then in Albuquerque. She retired in 1976 after 36 years of service. They were married 68 years until her death in the fall of 2013 at the age of almost 96. They lived in the North Valley of Albuquerque and were active members of Guadalupe Parish until 1965. Boleslo served with the U.S. Post Office as a mail carrier until 1976 when he retired after 27 years of service. Boleslo and Dora moved to Los Lunas in 1967 and later to Abeytas, NM in the 1970's. They moved back to Los Lunas in 1986 and lived there for the rest of their lives. They were always active in their local churches and were mayordomos of the little church in Abeytas. They were also members of numerous charitable organizations too numerous to mention. He was preceded in death by his father, Andres A. Romero III and his mother, Emilia "Perla" Romero, were both residents of Los Lunas, NM; paternal grandparents, Andres A. Romero II and Rosita Baca, daughter of the distinguished Roman Baca family, were both residents of Los Lunas; maternal grandfather, Boleslo Romero, member of the First NM State Senate and prominent businessman of Los Lunas; maternal grandmother, Refugia Chavez also of Los Lunas and Tome; and his brother Andy, a veteran of WWII. Boleslo is survived by his two sons, both engineers, Boleslo Romero and his wife, Katherine Manuelito-Romero and Albert Romero and his wife, Anne Padgett; three grandsons, Boleslo Romero of Santa Barbara, CA and his partner, Tamara Bray, Lt. Matthew Romero and his wife, Sarah of Colorado Springs, CO and TSgt Ross Romero and his fiancee, Sarah Plunk, both of Stillwater, OK; great-grandson, Landon, son of Matthew and Sarah Romero; two sisters, Minerva Romero and Soveida Gonzales. He is also survived by numerous nephews, nieces, grand-nephews and grand-nieces of the Romero, Gonzales, Gallegos, Debaca, and Cuellar families; cousins, Connie, Don and Fred Romero of Albuquerque; and devoted friends included, Cecilia Castillo, Charles and Lorraine Chavez, and many others. All services will be held at the San Clemente Catholic Church in Los Lunas, on Friday, May 30th beginning with a Viewing at 9:00 a.m. with a Rosary to be recited at 10:00 a.m. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at10:30 a.m. Burial with military honors follows the service at the San Clemente Catholic Cemetery just south of Main Street on Chavez Lane. A reception for the public will be held at the San Clemente Parish Hall immediately after the burial services are concluded. Sign Boleslo's online tribute at www.romerofuneralhomenm.com Romero Funeral Home, 609 N. Main Street, Belen, NM Romero Funeral Home, 609 N. Main St., Belen, NM
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