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BRIGGS, WILLIAM C. passed away in Albuquerque on April 20, 2013, just over 90 years after he was born there to parents Leslie Palmer Briggs and Edith Reagan Briggs in December, 1922. After graduating from Albuquerque High School in 1939, his education at the University of New Mexico was interrupted by World War II, thrusting him into the role of a pilot flying transport missions within the continental United States. After the War he attended Stanford University on the GI Bill, graduating in Political Science in 1946. He turned down an appointment as a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford in order to attend Harvard Law School where he participated in the Legal Aid Bureau. After graduating in 1949, he returned to Albuquerque, where he married Nancy Gay Robb, daughter of UNM Fine Arts Dean John Donald Robb. He was a remarkable parent to his two sons, Christopher and Charles, decades ahead of his time as a father who took major responsibility for their day-to-day care. After briefly starting his own law firm, he joined Rodey, Dickinson, Sloan, Akin, and Robb. He was active in the Democratic Party and served on the boards of numerous organizations, including the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra and Planned Parenthood of New Mexico. Having helped shape The Nature Conservancy's presence in New Mexico as a board member, he became its first State Director, a position that enabled him to visit the New Mexican landscapes he had loved since his childhood and work with biologists in determining which were most in need of protection. His second retirement afforded him more time to pursue his lifelong passion for fly fishing, testing his virtuoso skills on trout in rivers ranging from the San Juan River in New Mexico to those in Argentina and New Zealand, often in the company of Robert Taichert. In 1983, he married Norma Hurley, enjoying over 12 years of romance until her untimely death in 1996. He was just as remarkable a grandparent to Feliciana, Jessie, Matt, Gabi, Rachel, and Gabriel as he was a father to his own sons. He is survived by his loving companion of the last 15 years, Barbara Ellis; son Chris and wife Pat Briggs; son Charles and wife Clara Mantini-Briggs; and his grandchildren. Donations may be made in his memory to The Nature Conservancy, 212 E. Marcy Street, Ste 200, Santa Fe, NM 87501.
        Published on: Sun April 28, 2013