Search Results

MARES, ERNEST ANTHONY (TONY) Ernest Anthony (Tony) Mares died January 30, at the age of 76, after complications from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. He was born May 17, 1938, in Albuquerque, into a family steeped in the rich history of New Mexico and the desert Southwest. He is survived by his wife, Carolyn Meyer; his son Ernesto Mares; daughter Vered Mares; daughter Maria Ehrnstein and her family, including granddaughters Lianna, Shannon, and Danielle; and brothers Chris and Michael and their families. He was preceded in death by his daughter Galit and his parents, Rebecca and Ernesto Gustavo Mares. There are no good words to sum up the life of such a brilliant and gentle soul. Tony was a true Renaissance man: professor, poet, essayist, dramatist, actor, political agitator and social activist, as well as mentor and friend. His life and legacy will continue to touch people through the lessons he taught his students, his overt dislike of the "establishment," and his extensive body of written work. His most recent work, a collection of poems about the Spanish Civil War, will be published posthumously. He wrote and performed his play, "I Returned and Saw Under the Sun," and traveled all over the state playing the role of Padre Martinez of Taos. His essays about Martinez were anthologized in the book, "Padre Martinez: New Perspectives from Taos." It is fitting that Tony's obituary be as untraditional as he was. Thus Tony leaves his family and friends with the following thoughts: "In the movie 'Casablanca,' Humphrey Bogart, proprietor of 'Rick's Cafe Americain,' tries to obtain the 'transit papers' from the Nazis that will allow his ex-girlfriend, played by Ingrid Bergman, to escape with her husband from Vichy controlled Casablanca. "Since I have never liked the sounds of 'will' or 'testament,' I prefer 'Transit Papers,' which seems to me a term more fluid and ambiguous with future possibilities. What will I transit to? A hideous urn that a merciful cat will knock over and scatter my ashes in some broken-down trailer home? Or ashes placed in a simple urn to be scattered over a beautiful site somewhere on the North American continent, a place like the Rio Grande or the Sandia Mountains? As I write this, I am fully aware that my ashes will have no say so whatsoever in what happens to them. So I leave it up to my resourceful wife and daughters who survive me to determine what to do with me while I am cooling off in some urn or container." While Tony is now in transit, both literally and figuratively, his life will be celebrated on Sunday, February 8, at the UNM Alumni Chapel at 3:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, please volunteer your time at your favorite charity or go to your local bookstore and support it fully. While the winter snows fall on the Sandias, we are left with our faces in the cold to reflect upon the many gifts Tony left with us. As he so aptly put it, "When the poem stops, you should go through the windshield."
        Published on: Tue February 03, 2015