 SANCHEZ, GARY RAYMOND JUDE artist, teacher, relative and friend, died unexpectedly of a heart attack sometime Thanksgiving evening after enjoying a quiet, celebratory dinner with his sister. He was 53. Gary was born Sept. 14, 1961 and grew up in Belen and Albuquerque. His talents earned him an art scholarship to college, but he ended up with a planning degree from Trinity University and working for the city of San Antonio. In 1997 Gary returned home to pursue his "childhood dream of becoming an artist," and for the next 17 years practiced art while also teaching it to children and adults. He won numerous awards, including a 1996 gold medal from the Pastel Society of the Southwest and first place finishes at the 2004 and 2006 New Mexico State Fairs. Gary's other passions were New Mexico history (the Sanchez's arrived several hundred years ago) and golf (his clubs were always in the car). He was preceded in death by his parents, Delores Tafoya-Bean and Joe M. Sanchez, his stepfather David Bean, and his Aunt Irene Padilla and his uncle, Ken Andrews. He's survived by his sister, Annette Terese Sanchez, his Bean stepbrothers Steve and wife Anita, Kevin and wife Susan, and Bryan, his uncles Danny Tafoya and Alfonso Sanchez, his aunts Rose Andrews, Lordie Ponce and husband Richard, and by numerous cousins related by blood and marriage. A service will be held on Friday, Dec. 12 at 10 am at Our Lady of Belen Catholic Church, followed by burial at Our Lady of Belen Catholic Cemetery.
|
