Obituaries

GINGER HIRT March 22, 1944 – May 25, 2021

Ginger Hirt passed away peacefully in her home Tuesday, May 25, 2021.

Ginger was born March 22, 1944, to Arnie and Rose Warren in Osage, Iowa, where she grew up with her sister Liz (Mooberry). 

She graduated from Luther College with a degree in Music Education. After graduation, she was determined to find adventure far beyond the small towns of Iowa. A teacher recruitment fair offered her a job teaching elementary music in Los Alamos and she jumped at the opportunity.

It was at a singles party in Los Alamos that she met Tony Hirt. She knew the first time they met Read More

ELMER LEROY GRADY Aug. 5,1926 – June 6, 2021

Parents Bert Austin Grady and Lela Adeline Grady (Robertson), Sister: Leverne Zimmerman

Children, Kenneth LeRoy Grady, Regina Marie Sherman, Douglas Everett Grady, Donald Karl Grady, 7 grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren. Liked:  Hunting, Fishing, Square Dancing, and Playing Cards (Pinochle and Cribbage).

Elmer survived the Great Depression but was angry with God, because he prayed for food and only got a 50-pound bag of beans. He and some of his high school buddies started working as machinists. Then they joined the war effort. He went into Read More

KAREN ROWAN Dec. 13, 1949 – May 31, 2021

Karen Rowan passed away on May 31, 2021, after a 5-year battle with lung cancer.

Karen was born in Abilene, Texas on December 13, 1949. Her family moved to Houston, where, at the age of 12, completely on her own, she made her profession of faith in Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior and was baptized.

Karen graduated in 1971 with a degree in Art History from the University of Texas

at Austin, where she also met and married Randy Rowan, her husband of 50 years.  Karen and Randy moved to Los Alamos in April 1976.

Karen loved teaching children. She was an elementary teacher Read More

JON WILSON June 1, 1939 – March 3, 2021

Jon Wilson, 81, of Greeley, passed away on March 3, 2021 in Greeley, Colorado.

He was born to John and Beryl (Chapel) Wilson on June 1, 1939, in Casper, Wyoming. Jon proudly served in the US Navy during the Vietnam War.

Jon worked for and retired from Los Alamos National Laboratory. He was proud to be a grandson of Homesteaders Dan and Cora Chapel out by Pawnee Creek north of Stoneham, Colo.

He was a fan of UNC football and basketball. He enjoyed officiating swim meets and coaching in the Special Olympics. He also enjoyed gardening and cooking.

Jon is survived by his Read More

WALTER F. HUEBNER Feb. 22, 1928 – June 1, 2021

Walter F. Huebner, renowned astrophysicist and lifelong traveler, passed away peacefully at his home in Norman, Oklahoma, June 1, 2021, at the age of 93, surrounded by his family. 

He was born in New York City, February 22, 1928, to Margaretha (Koch) and Richard Huebner.

Walter spent his childhood in Franzendorf near Reichenberg in what was then the Czech Republic. In 1947, at the age of 19, he emigrated back to the United States. He enrolled in Dobbs Ferry High School and continued on to Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute where he developed his passion Read More

WAYNE KAY ‘CORKY’ THORN 1938 – May 30, 2021

Wayne Kay “Corky” Thorn (1938-2021) passed away peacefully May 30, 2021, surrounded by close family.

Corky lived a happy and adventurous life. He was born in Raton, NM and moved to Los Alamos, NM at age 14 before graduating from Los Alamos High School in the class of 1956.

During his time at LAHS, he proudly ran track, pole vaulted, and was the star fullback for the mighty Hilltopper football team. After graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving as an electrician’s mate aboard destroyers on western Pacific cruises from 1956 to 1960.

He returned to Read More

THOMAS GRASSER Sept. 6, 1924 – June 1, 2021

Thomas Grasser passed away June 1, 2021.

He was born September 6, 1924, in Kenosha, WI. Following graduation, Thomas served in the US Army under Gen. Patton’s Third Army where he experienced the Battle of the Bulge, Massacre at Malmedy, and liberated the holocaust camps of Dachau and Buchenwald. He received the Bronze Star and French Legion of Honor Medal for his exemplary service. His additional military service after WWII included the Navy and National Guard.

After the war, Tom came to New Mexico and married the “love of his life”, Maria Montoya. They Read More

JESSE CLARKE UMBARGER Oct. 1, 1973 – May 24, 2021

Jesse Umbarger passed away May 24, 2021, at his home in Aurora, Colorado. 

Born to C. John and Kathryn Umbarger, the third of four children, Jesse grew up in Los Alamos, New Mexico, where he graduated from Los Alamos High School by the skin of his teeth. Not that he wasn’t smart; he was brilliant. Jesse was creative, inventive, artistic, and mechanical, and fascinated with brewing beer. 

From teenage self-taught chemistry, microbiology, physics, and engineering for his homemade kitchen product (which he learned was legal for him to do in New Mexico), Read More

JAMES DAVID GAUTIER Oct. 9, 1934 – June 1, 2021

James (Jim) Gautier, husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather passed away surrounded by his loving family, on June 1, 2021, from complications resulting from a fall.

Jim was born in Stillwater, Oklahoma on October 9, 1934 to Raymond Gautier and Ruth Kennedy Gautier. Jim and his sister Raymonda were raised by their mother who Jim believed instilled in him the values that defined his life.

He was married to Fran Gautier with whom he had son Cort and daughter Jenalyn. Jim married Peggy Vergamini in 1976 and welcomed her two sons Terry and Tony Read More

ELIZABETH ROSINA (SIPOLT) ZIOMEK Nov. 3, 1930 – May 28, 2021

Elizabeth Ziomek was 90 years old and was known as “Betty,” “Liz,” “Mrs. Z,” “Mom/Ma,” “Aunt Betty,” and “Nana”.

She was a dedicated wife, mother, grandmother, caring sister, aunt, and friend to many. Additionally, she was an accomplished athlete and an avid Chicago Sports Fan.

She was preceded in death by her parents Alois and Angela Sipolt, her sister Ann Hawkins, her half-brother Philip Orth, and her husband Walter Ziomek.

She is survived by her younger brother Louis John Sipolt, her son James Ziomek and his spouse, 4 grandchildren, Read More