Search Results

ROBERTSON -- Merton "Mert" Robertson passed away May 13, 2008 at Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque at the age of 83. He was born August 16, 1924 in Scobey, Montana, the only son of Juy and Hilda Robertson who homesteaded their ranch just South of the Canadian border. Growing up and helping his father work the ranch during the difficult depression years shaped him for the rest of his life. Even as a Physicist working for Sandia, he remained a rancher at heart. Mert contracted polio at the age of 21. After spending a year in the hospital, he made a strong recovery defying many who thought he would never walk again. During last 30 years of his life however, post polio syndrome slowly robbed him of mobility and physical activity. Growing up, he attended a one room prairie school and graduated from high school in Whitetail, Montana. He then graduated from the University of Montana with degrees in Physics and Math. From there he went on to the University of Chicago where he spent a year and was selected as a Fulbright scholar. As a Fulbright scholar, he traveled to the Netherlands where he studied, worked and learned Dutch. He completed his formal education at the University of Wisconsin earning a PhD in Physics. It was at the university where he met June, his wife of fifty years. They married in October of 1957 when both were enrolled as graduate students. Mert worked at Sandia National Labs as a Nuclear Physicist for 31 years. He had a successful career contributing technical advancements in many areas. He led airborne missions to study solar eclipse phenomena which gave him the opportunity to travel the world. Mert retired from Sandia in 1992. An outdoors man, Mert loved to camp, hunt and fish which he continued to do as long as physically possible. After which he continued to live the outdoors life through the stories and exploits of his many close friends. He is survived by his wife June; a son, Mark and wife, Linda, their two sons, Travis and Matt. Other survivors include his sisters, JoAnn Marlenee, Barbi Shipstead, both of Scobey, Montana and Diane Gillis of Aliso Viejo, California. A gathering of friends and loved ones to celebrate Mert's life will be held at the family home, 6608 Natalie NE, Saturday, May 17, 4:00 p.m.
        Published on: Thu May 15, 2008