Obituaries

EDWARD ROBERT BIRNBAUM Oct. 28 1943 – Jan. 21, 2023

Ed was born in Brooklyn, NY and spent most of the first 20 years of his life there, graduating in 1964 with a BS in Chemistry with Honors from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York (CUNY). 

He earned a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Illinois in Urbana, IL in 1968, and moved to Las Cruces, NM with his wife, Amy, to join the NMSU Chemistry Department as an assistant professor. He retired as a full professor from NMSU after 24 years and moved to Los Alamos, where he spent two years at LANL focused on the remediation of nuclear Read More

MARY VIRGINIA MITCHELL LITTLE 1923-2023

Mary Little passed peacefully into Heaven on January 14, 2023, two months shy of her 100th birthday.

Mary is survived by her son Robert Little, her daughter, Susan Bartholomew (Russell), grandsons Michael Bartholomew (Courtney) and Jacob Bartholomew (Sara), great-granddaughter Ellie, great-grandson Logan, brother Earl Mitchell (Jeanette), and many nieces and nephews.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Edward Little, parents, Rober Harris and Mary Joyce Mitchell, and brothers Harris Mitchell, Edward Mitchell (Margaret), and Clyde Mitchell Read More

MIRIUM (MIMI) LAUVER ANSPACH

Mimi was the fifth of six children born to Orville and Mary Lauver. When she was eleven years old, her father died and Mary raised the six children on her own. Mary believed strongly that girls should go to school and have professional careers.

Mimi took her mother’s beliefs seriously to heart. She earned a B.S.N. from Wittenberg University, then went on to earn her nursing degree.

In 1950, she married Paul Parker Anspach, the son of a Lutheran pastor who was a good friend of her father’s. Parker had just graduated from Divinity School at the same time Mimi graduated from Read More

WARREN CHARLES SEVANDER July 9, 1950 – Jan. 15, 2023

On January 15, 2023, Warren Charles Sevander passed on to a better place at the age of 72. Warren was born on July 9, 1950, to his adoptive parents, Warner Sevander and Hazel (Ostwald) Sevander, in Chicago, Illinois.

He attended high school in Mt. Prospect, Illinois (Prospect High School) and Chicago (Roosevelt High School), where he graduated in the class of 1968. Warren attended Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, Illinois, and ultimately earned his B.A. from Bethel College of St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1977.

Warren had a passion for the Read More

ROBIN S. MCDOWELL 1934 – Jan. 16, 2023

Robin S. (Rod) McDowell died Monday, Jan. 16, 2023, at Evergreen Medical Center in Kirkland, Washington at age 88. He died with his devoted wife and both adoring daughters at his side, loving grandchildren and sons-in-law nearby (due to visitation restrictions) or en route.  

Rod was born in 1934 in Greenwich, Conn., and graduated from high school in Stratford, Conn. He earned a B.A. in chemistry from Haverford College in 1956 and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from M.I.T. in 1961.

Having been twice a summer student at Los Alamos, he returned there in December Read More

MADELINE J. WILLIAMSON 1947–2022

Madeline passed away on December 28, 2022 after a long & fierce battle with cancer. She died at home with Birgitte and their dogs, in peace & beauty.

Madeline & Birgitte fell in love with Abiquiu and bought their property on the Chama in 2000. They built a house made for their extended pet family, the enjoyment of birds & the beauty of the river, and for music performance.

In 2008 the first season of the Abiquiu Chamber Music Festival opened and music continued to be played for twelve summers until Madeline’s last diagnosis in 2019. In that period Read More

GEORGE FRANCIS HURLEY Nov. 15, 1940 – Dec. 27, 2022

George Francis Hurley, 82, passed away peacefully at the Senior Care Center in St. Marys, GA with his wife Peggy by his side Dec. 27, 2022.

George was born Nov. 15, 1940 in Boston, Massachusetts to Cornelius and Georgia Hurley. George graduated from MIT in 1964 with a Doctoral degree in Materials Science. He worked for Pratt & Whitney in Connecticut, followed by Tyco Industries in Waltham, Massachusetts.

The family moved to Los Alamos in 1975, where George worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory until retirement in 2001. He worked various Read More

RONALD C. HYER May 25, 1936 – Jan. 13, 2023 

Ron Hyer, 86, longtime time resident of Los Alamos, passed away at his home in Pajarito Acres Jan. 13, 2023. 

Ron was born in Los Angeles, CA, and lived in many US states throughout his childhood. He went to Marquette University and received his graduate degree in physics from Louisiana State University.

Ron married Dianne Kendall LaCour and they moved to Livermore, CA, where he worked for Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. The family of five then moved to Los Alamos in 1970 where Ron was a laser physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory until his retirement. Read More

FRANKLIN JOSEPH BUNKER Jan. 5, 2023

Franklin Joseph Bunker, age 95, a resident of White Rock, NM passed peacefully quietly Jan. 5, 2023. 

Frank will be joining his loving wife Patricia L. Bunker, his son Bruce R. Bunker, parents Raymond and Hazel Bunker and his brothers Arthur and Richard Bunker on his new journey. 

Frank’s successes in life consisted of being a Senior Engineer in the Photo Instrumentation Department at the EG&G’s Los Alamos Operations. In addition to his field and laboratory work at EG&G, Frank’s background in photography included two years of special studies Read More

NELL REED WILL 1924 – Jan. 15, 2023

Nell Reed Will passed away on January 15, 2023, at the age of 98, at her home in Sebastian, Florida, surrounded by loved ones. She was a caring and devoted mother, grandmother, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend.

Nellie was born in Clayton, New Mexico, in 1924 to Harry and Cleofas Reed. Her indomitable spirit and resilient nature were due in part to the historic events she experienced firsthand, including the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and losing her brother Jack during battle in World War II, all before Nell had graduated from high school.

Nell attended Read More