In memoriam: Those we lost over the past year
A look back at those who died in 2017
From beloved musicians who entertained local crowds for decades to powerful politicians, pueblo leaders, businessmen, philanthropists and writers, Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico bid farewell in 2017 to many people who made their mark. Some had gained prominence far outside the region, such as powerhouse Republican U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici and acclaimed writer and actor Sam Shepard. A few, while giants in their fields, lived quietly in Santa Fe: cardiologist Irwin Hoffman, TV producer Jack Good and awardwinning playwright Bernard Pomerance, for instance. communities longtime Herman businessman Others Agoyo state were Richard in lawmaker of heavy myriad Ohkay Cook, hitters ways. Luciano Owingeh, Santa locally, Among “Lucky” Fe Española shaping Community them Varela, are their Farm Rothstein founder and John Ski Santa Stephenson, Fe developer attorney Jean Bob Bainbridge, to name just a few. Northern New Mexico lost some of its most treasured musicians in 2017, including Al Hurricane, George Adelo, Bonnie Hearne and Fiddlin’ Doc Gonzales. Here we celebrate the lives of those whose influence on their communities will continue to have an effect long after their deaths.
Rev. Francisco ‘Paco’ Vallejos, 63
Jan. 5
One of seven children, the Rev. Francisco “Paco” Vallejos once said in an interview, “My childhood was like the green chile we grew on our one-acre plot in Albuquerque — hot and spicy.”
But friends said Vallejos — whose career took many turns, from U.S. Marine to Catholic priest to school counselor — grew to be a kind and gentle man. “He had an extraordinary light around himself,” said his husband, Kevin Horton.
As a Marine, Vallejos was posted to Somalia, Colombia and Argentina, where he served as an American embassy guard.
He was ordained as a priest in 1986 and worked in parishes in eastern Oregon and Idaho, in the northeastern part of New Mexico and at the San Juan parish in the pueblo of Ohkay Owingeh.
Vallejos later earned a master’s degree in counseling and worked at schools in Santa Fe and Española, as well as in private practice.
Rev. James Andrew Wolff, 87
Jan. 12
The Rev. James “Jim” Andrew Wolff, a former pastor at Santa María de la Paz Catholic Community parish who also worked as a therapist, was a dapper, knowledgeable man with a constant smile, his co-workers said.
In 1993, Wolff co-founded the Pastoral Counseling Center of Santa Fe, which combined spiritual counseling with the teachings of famed Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung.
“He always had a smile on his face and was confident all the time,” said Kay Wagner, who worked with Wolff for nearly 30 years and also helped found the counseling center.
Don Campbell, 90
Feb. 3
Don Campbell, a decorated World War II veteran, was best known for his college running career.
During a tour in the Philippines, the former high school track star was shot in the right thigh. When he returned to his native state of Colorado, a doctor told him his running career was done, his family said. But he wasn’t deterred.
He joined the track and field team at the University of Colorado, where he became a well-known sprinter nicknamed the “Colorado Comet.” In 1951, he was part of the 400-meter relay team that won a gold medal at the Pan-American Games in Argentina.
He moved to Santa Fe to continue his financial services career and eventually retired from SunWest Bank at the age of 70, his family members said. But he remained active in the community, serving on the Hospice Center board, as well as the boards of The Santa Fe Opera and United Way of Santa Fe County.
Cody Carson Sheppard, 68
March 2
As a member of the ski patrol at the Santa Fe ski basin for more than 30 years — and the patrol’s leader for most of that time — Cody Carson Sheppard seemed to be a natural part of the mountain to many people who frequented the slopes.
Sheppard attended St. John’s College in Santa Fe in the late 1960s and started working at the Santa Fe ski basin in 1971. He left the job a few years ago, when he was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer. He died from the illness in Mexico, family members said.
“The mountain was huge in his life,” said Benny Abruzzo, general manager and president of Ski Santa Fe.
As his illness advanced, Sheppard and his wife, Lehigh, traveled down to San Carlos, Mexico, where he died in his wife’s arms in a rental cottage overlooking the Sea of Cortez.
Edward B. ‘Edder’ Bennett III, 57
March 3 The grit and determination of Edward B. “Edder” Bennett III reinvigorated a nonfiction journal and led him to graduate from Yale College and succeed in finance after a severe spinal cord injury from a diving accident in 1979.
He “was a true professional,” said Mark French, a senior vice president at First National Bank of Santa Fe.
Bennett died after suffering from chronic conditions related to his disability, according to friends.
He had moved to Santa Fe with his family in the 1970s after his father, Edward Bennett Jr., was part of an investor group that acquired First National. Edder Bennett assumed the top job in 2004.
Those who knew Bennett in earlier days remember him as among those who revived The New Journal, a publication that celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2017. Bennett also became an advocate for those with disabilities.
Cordelia Feliciana Viarrial Gomez, 88
March 23
Cordelia Gomez was only 3 years old when she came by wagon with her family from Colorado to re-establish Pojoaque Pueblo in 1932. Despite the arduous journey, she recalled it fondly and sometimes said she wanted to go to her final resting place in a similar wagon.
Gomez — teacher, potter, seamstress and admired cook — got her wish March 25, when her casket was loaded onto a blue carriage pulled by two mules and her family escorted her to the Pojoaque Pueblo cemetery, not far from her longtime home.
Cordelia Feliciana Viarrial Gomez, who liked to be called Cordi, was the last of the tribal members who returned to rebuild the abandoned pueblo north of Santa Fe. In a eulogy, pueblo Gov. Joe Talachy referred to her as one of Pojoaque Pueblo’s “greatest treasures.”