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Ernesto G. Mares. On the night the planet Mars made its closest approach to earth for centuries to come, Ernesto G. Mares died. It is appropriate that Ernie, friend and father, left us at this time. He was, like Mars, a soldier, but he was also a hunter and an outdoorsman. He was born in Wagon Mound, New Mexico, December 28, 1914 and died on October 29, 2005. He came of old ranching stock, of the Mares and Martinez families of Taos and Northern New Mexico, and lived his early years in Raton. He was well known for his athletic abilities. Shortly after graduating from Albuquerque High School in 1933, he worked as a lifeguard at Tingley Beach where he single-handedly defeated the entire swimming team of the University of Southern California. Unable to afford college, he worked as a machinist for the Santa Fe Railroad and for Kirtland Air Force Base during World War II. He later worked on the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, joined the U. S. Army, and served in military intelligence in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Later, he worked for Sandia Laboratories as a model and instrument maker until he retired in 1980. A liberal in the FDR tradition, he always worked politically for the benefit of the uncommon common man. Ernie married Rebecca (Becky) Garca y Gutierrez Devine in 1936. They had three children, Ernest Anthony, Michael, and Chris. As brothers, we remember passionate discussions about war, religion, politics, science, literature, music and many other topics in the family home. While our mother, Rebecca, was a devout and feisty Roman Catholic, our dad Ernie was something of a tough skeptic. Perhaps unconsciously, Ernie encouraged his children to question authority, to question the status quo, to ask the uncomfortable questions, to always rebel. Becky, for her part, along with Ernie, always urged us to strive for the highest possible education. For this, and above all for their unselfish love, we are deeply indebted to both of them and will never forget them. Becky died in 1995. May they both be at home and at peace in the cosmos where eventually we will join them. Our dad was also preceded in death by his parents, Eduardo and Alicia Mares, and by his siblings Inocencio, Epimenia and Alicia. He is survived by his children and their spouses, E. A. Mares and Carolyn Meyer, Michael and Lynn Mares, Chris Mares, and by Georgia Canon-Vivoli, who, by her life and actions, is the daughter our parents had always wished to have. Ernie is also survived by his brother Christie Mares and his wife Donna of Springfield, Virginia. His grandchildren Ernesto Mares and Maria Ehrnstein, Vered Mares, Gabriel and Daniel Mares, and Michelle Mares will miss him dearly. Our dad is also survived by his great grandchildren, Lianna, Danielle, and Shannon Rebecca Ehrnstein and by an extraordinary number of Mares, Martinez, and Devine relatives. And so we carve our names in the air as we, too, pass by on our uncertain voyage . . . forever. Viviendo morimos Pale rider on a winter horse Ride well the fog covered trail Through mountain snow Muriendo vivimos. Our dad kept his sense of humor and his wonderful smile literally to his very last moments on earth. He would have laughed at the image of himself as a rider on a winter horse, yet indeed he had memories of riding horses through snow covered mountains. We are deeply grateful for the loving care the nurses, therapists, and aides at Laurel Skies Health Care gave to Ernie. We are also thankful for the help of Fernanda and Millie of Hospice of the Sandias. Services will be held Friday, November 4, 2005, at 10:00 a.m., at French Mortuary, University Blvd. Chapel. Interment will follow at Mt. Calvary Cemetery, 1900 Edith Blvd. NE, with military honors. There will be a visitation for family and friends Thursday, November 3, 2005, at French Mortuary, University Blvd. Chapel, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. French Mortuary 1111 University Blvd. NE 843-6333
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