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Louis (Luis) C. Castillo, 87, passed away peacefully on September 30, 2010 surrounded by his family. Louis was an incredible man, he not only loved his family with the deepest passion but he loved the Lord more and showed it by the way he lived. Louis was born in Santa Rita (Riley), NM and had 11 brothers and sisters. Prior to going off to war, Louis worked as a civilian at Ft Wingate, Gallup, NM where he examined and packaged bombs and artillery shells. He then served in the Army from June 4, 1943 - January 21, 1946 in the European Theater receiving the Purple Heart with two bronze stars, Presidential Unit Emblem, Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, EAME Campaign Medal with four bronze stars, WWII Victory Medal, Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp, French Fourragere, the Belgian Fourragere, Honorable Service Lapel Button, and WWII Marksman Badge with Rifle Bar and Bronze Arrowhead. He was in the 2nd wave on D-Day where he saved three men from drowning during the landing phase. As combat engineer he used mine detectors to determine location of enemy placed mines, he laid landmines and attached fuses to high explosives and properly placed them to destroy enemy pill boxes, mines and obstacles, and, of course, used and maintained his M-1 Rifle. After leaving the Army with an Honorable discharge he moved back home and worked at the Jarales Roller Mill from 1946-1948. He then moved to Barstow, CA and worked at the Maintenance Dept, USMC from 1948 to 1951. In February 1949 he married the former Filomena Marquez. He and Filomena then moved to Albuquerque where he worked as a Security Guard at Kirtland Air Force Base for 26 years receiving many awards throughout his career. He was preceded in death by his parents Silvestre and Manuelita Castillo and his wife Filomena (Malle) who passed away in April of 2000. Louis is survived by brothers, Sylvestre Castillo and Jose Castillo; and sister Eloisa Chavez; four children, Leonard Castillo (his wife Lydia), Diego Castillo (his wife Lydia), Eleanor Harris (her husband Rick), and Richard Castillo; seven grandchildren and numerous great and great-great grandchildren. Louis had fervor for life enjoying woodworking, building construction, sketching, painting, gardening, and was a mathematical whiz. Louis was a member of the VFW Post 401. He lived with his daughter and son-in-law for five years prior to moving into a local nursing home on a doctor's recommendation in April 2006 due to his fast acting Parkinson's disease. His daughter visited him several times a week ensuring he was happy and that he knew he was not abandoned. Thank you Rehabilitation Center of Albuquerque for caring for Louis as you did, thank you. His funeral mass was held at the Daniel's Family Funeral Home on Wyoming Blvd on October 2, 2010 and he was laid to rest at the Santa Fe National Cemetery on 4 October 2010 with full military honors. If you wish to send donations to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation log onto http://www.pdf.org/. Those who wish to send condolences may do so at: www.danielsfuneral.com.
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