Obituaries

RICHARD EDWARD PRAEL July 25, 1940–Feb. 12, 2014

Richard E. Prael died at his home in Los Alamos Feb. 12, 2014. He was born July 25, 1940 in Astoria, Ore.

Prael is survived by his beloved wife, Phyllis A. Bailey; his daughter, Mary Alice Prael Madaris (Mike) and grandsons, Elijah and Noah Madaris, of Marietta, Ga.; three stepchildren, Alison Bailey (Terri Moore) of Los Alamos, N.M.; Dr. Aileen Bailey (Aaron Koch) of Great Mills, Md.; and Ken Bailey (Gail) of Washington, D.C.; as well as seven step grandchildren:Connor, Jordan and Isabella Bailey, Colin and Audrey Koch and Noor and Rima Bailey. Read More

STEWART A. APGAR III Nov. 28, 1928–Feb. 7, 2014

Stewart A. Apgar III, long time Los Alamos resident, passed away peacefully at home Friday, Feb. 7, 2014, with family members at his side. Stewart was born the only child of the late Stewart Jr. and Thelma Apgar in Raton, New Mexico Nov. 28, 1928. Stewart spent the majority of his childhood growing up in the Glorieta and Pecos, New Mexico areas. His parents later moved to Three Rivers, New Mexico, where Stewart graduated from Tularosa High School in 1947. 

After high school, Stewart moved to Albuquerque, attended UNM, and joined the Air National Read More

FREDRICK PAUL (FRITZ) SCHILLING  Dec. 3, 1928–Jan. 1, 2014

Fritz Schilling was born Dec. 3, 1928 in Missoula, Montana and died Jan. 1, 2014 in Boise Idaho, after a year’s battle with deteriorating health and an auto accident Dec. 29 outside Boise.

He was preceded in death by his parents Paul and Ellen Schilling, sister Jeanene, son Jeffery, and beloved wife of 40 years, Lucille. He is survived by his brother David Schilling and wife Tedi, son Philip Schilling and wife Anna Kuo, son Scott Schilling and wife Lori, daughter Keturah Schilling Shepard and husband David Shepard, grandsons Isaac Read More

RONALD FREDERICK CHRISTIAN Sept. 16, 1948–Jan. 9, 2014

Ronald Frederick Christian, 65, of Rio Rancho, NM, passed away on January 9, 2014 in Albuquerque, NM. A Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, January 18, at Albuquerque’s First Baptist Church, 4101 Paseo Del Norte NW, Albuquerque, NM 87114, with Pastor Paul Cunningham of First Baptist Church of Los Alamos, NM, officiating.

Ronald was born in Wadesboro, NC to Frederick and Jean Cowan Christian on September 16, 1948. He married Charlotte Winslow on October 1, 1971 in Sparta, NC. He graduated from Hampton University Read More

RUTH LOUISE BULL DEMUTH May 30, 1931–Dec. 27, 2013

Ruth Louise Bull Demuth died peacefully at home on December 27, 2013 at the age of 82, from Alzheimer’s Disease and its associated complications. She spent the past several years being cared for by Thomas Alfred Sandford, her loving husband of 33 years, and many of her children, grandchildren, friends and caregivers.

Ruth was born in Los Angeles, CA on May 30, 1931 to Verena Elizabeth Miescher Bull and Howard Walworth Bull. She was preceded in death by her mother, father, and brother Richard Fredrick Bull. She is survived by her husband, Tom; daughters Read More

ROBERT ALLEN HARDEKOPF Oct. 14, 1940–Dec. 21, 2013

Robert Allen Hardekopf (Bob) was born October 14, 1940 in St. Louis, MO and died in Los Alamos on December 21, 2013 after a long battle with leukemia and related complications.

His parents Charles Frederick and Hazel Wilma Hardekopf, and an infant daughter Elizabeth Ann Hardekopf preceded him in death. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Priscilla (Grovenstein) Hardekopf of Los Alamos; by his children and their spouses Catherine Lynn Freudenreich (Oliver) of Arlington, MA; David Warren Hardekopf (Lenka) of Prague, Czech Republic; Kenneth Read More

RAY GUERETTE Oct. 25, 1930–Dec. 27, 2013

Raymond F. Guerette, 83, a resident of Winthrop, Maine, and formerly of Los Alamos, New Mexico, passed away on Friday, December 27, 2013.

Ray was born on October 25, 1930 in Winthrop, Maine, the son of Charles and Julia (Currier) Guerette.

Ray graduated from Edward Little High School in Auburn in 1949. He commuted from Winthrop to Auburn daily with his high school football coach. This arrangement was made because his coach realized that Ray had talent and wanted to expose him to Division 1 coaches. The University of New Mexico offered him a football scholarship. Read More

WILBERT “WALT” H. MEYERS July 20, 1921–Dec. 13, 2013

Wilbert “Walt” Henry Meyers, 92, passed away December 13, 2013. Walt was born on July 20, 1921 in McPherson, Kansas to John and Amelia Meyer.

Walt met his wife, Mary Louise Hoefer when they were juniors in high school in Salina, Kansas. Their first date was a movie, and they were together for over 70 years. Walt and Mary were married December 4, 1942 in Washington D.C., where Walt was stationed in the Army. They raised six children, had ten grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren.

Upon testing, Walt was sent by Read More

SAMUEL LEE YARBRO March 27, 1987–Dec. 15, 2013

Samuel Lee Yarbro, 24, of Los Alamos, died on Sunday, December 15, 2013 as the result of injuries sustained from a tragic accident in Los Angeles, CA.

He was a PhD student in the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) school of Materials Science and Engineering planning a career researching and developing electronic materials. Samuel was born in Los Alamos on March 27, 1987, a gift from God, to parents, Stephen and Tresa Yarbro. Sam grew up in Los Alamos and attended Los Alamos schools graduating from Los Alamos High School (LAHS) in 2007 where Read More

WILLIAM “BILL” WAYNE HODGES June 28, 1947–April 21, 2013

William “Bill” Wayne Hodges of Los Alamos, NM died April 21, 2013. He was a long time resident of Los Alamos, New Mexico and spent 30 plus years working at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Bill worked in MEC Division main shops of the laboratory machining, supervising, training, mentoring and building parts for various specialty jobs requested by the lab and Department of Energy. He was responsible for creating the machinist apprentice program for the lab and was very proud of the accomplishment.

One of Bill’s lifelong dreams Read More