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SANCHEZ -- RUPERT On February 11, 2012 Rupert Sanchez went into eternal glory with our Lord and Savior. Rupert was born in Lyden, New Mexico on March 27, 1935. He was the youngest of seven children born to Juan de Dios and Marina Sanchez. Rupert worked with his dad and with his brothers tending livestock and farming in Lyden. He served in the New Mexico National Guard for nine years in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1968 he married Pearl Valdez. Together they raised three sons, of whom he was extremely proud. In his younger years, Rupert was a baseball pitcher in the Rio Grande League and in his later years, he played softball in church leagues. Some of his community and church activities included serving on an apple growers co-op, serving as a volunteer firefighter, volunteering with the Espanola Valley Group Ministry and a local Search and Rescue organization, and traveling to Louisiana with a team from his church to help rebuild after the destruction from Hurricane Katrina. He was an avid outdoorsman who loved to go camping, fishing, and hunting with his family and friends in the New Mexico mountains. He was an active scouter in the Boy Scouts of America for several years, including serving as an adult advisor on a trip to Philmont Scout Ranch. During his professional career, Rupert served as the Superintendent of Field Operations for the City of Espanola. He left his mark on the state of New Mexico with many engineering and surveying projects, including the San Juan-Chama Project and Cochiti and Brantley Dams. He also surveyed for the Turimiquiri Dam in Venezuela in the late 1970s. Throughout his life, Rupert was known for his gigantic smile, his incredibly warm personality, and his eagerness to help everybody. In 2010 Rupert was diagnosed with cancer that he fought until the final end. He died very peacefully at home surrounded by loved ones. He is survived by his wife Pearl; by his three sons and their wives, Dion and Beth, Monte and Jill, and Yancy and Karen; by his grandchildren Mason, Kelsey, Anna, and Clara Pearl; by his sister and brother-in-law Fortunata (Fortie) and Tony Martinez Jr.; by his sister-in-law Peggy Sanchez; by his sister-in-law and her husband Annette and Freddie Eskridge; and by an entire community of nieces and nephews, cousins, and family friends who all loved and admired him. Our sincere and heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Richard Lauer of the UNM Cancer Center for his compassionate care. A viewing will be held on Thursday, February 16, 2011 at 3:30 p.m. and service at 4:00 p.m. at Mesa View United Methodist Church in Albq. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, February 18, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. at Santa Cruz United Methodist Church in Espanola. Interment will follow at the Loma Vista Cemetery in Alcalde with a celebration of life in the Santa Cruz church fellowship hall afterward. A virtual guestbook is available at www.riversidefunerals.com.
        Published on: Wed February 15, 2012