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Nicholas J. DeLollis died on Monday, November 27, 2006, of natural causes. A joint Memorial Service for him and his wife, Dorothea, who died earlier in November, will be held on a future date, to be announced later. Nick was born on October 16, 1916, in Worcester, MA, to Domenic and Zalmira DeLollis, recent immigrants from Abruzzi, Italy. In 1938, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Clark University in Worcester. He met Dorothea Prince in Washington, DC, where both were employed, and they married in 1948. They moved to Albuquerque in 1956, where he worked in adhesive chemistry for 24 years at Sandia National Laboratories. Nick was proud of his adopted city and was instrumental in persuading several national religious and professional organizations to hold conventions there. He regularly volunteered for the International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta, most notably serving as interpreter for an Italian entrant in the first year of the now-world-renowned event. Nick was an internationally recognized authority on synthetic adhesives, with his numerous technical articles and two books translated into many languages. Known to friends and colleagues as "Sticky Nicky," or "The Glue Guru," he lent his technical expertise and leadership skills to many professional and technical organizations, including the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE), of which he was named a Fellow in 1991. In addition, Nick was a charter member of the section on adhesives of the International Standards Organization (ISO). Attending ISO meetings gave Nick and Dot a unique opportunity to visit many countries around the world. Traveling together was one of their great loves. Although preeminent in his chosen profession, Nick enjoyed most his role as husband and father. Evenings and weekends were family time, when he could be playful and adventurous. Around the dinner table, he made each child's ideas and experiences as important as his own. Nick is survived by his children, their spouses and his grandchildren: Nicholas, Susan and Meggen DeLollis of Houston, TX; Michael, Ann, Erik, and Kathryn DeLollis of Fresno, CA; Elizabeth and Rev. Adam Metropoulos of Bangor, ME; and foster daughter, Vo Thi Le Thuy, her husband, Tran Quoc Manh, and their daughter, Thien Trang, of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Nick was a 50-year member of the First Unitarian Church of Albuquerque, where he taught Sunday school, served on the board of directors and other committees, and proudly used his adhesive know-how to maintain the church's priceless wooden mosaic screen. Memorial gifts may be contributed to his church or to the Rio Grande Nature Center, where he volunteered for more than 20 years.
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