George Paz

1924 - 2016

George Marcos Paz is gone, but his life of 92 years can never be forgotten. Born on April 25, 1924 he passed away on November 5, 2016 where he joined his wife Angela to be with our Heavenly Father. George grew up on Church Street in downtown Las Cruces and was a fifth-generation native New Mexican. He attended Holy Cross School when it was next to the old St. Genevieve Church. He was a leader in Boys Scouts, and became an Eagle Scout before graduating from Las Cruces Union High School. He started college at New Mexico A & M (now NMSU), but soon enlisted in the US Army to support his country fighting the Nazi regime in WW II. He was an ambulance driver and medic in France and Germany, and helped liberate Dachau concentration camp. After the war, he resumed his studies at NMSU where he graduated in 1948 with a degree in Chemical Engineering. He fell in love and married Angela Narvaez and together they had twelve children, seven boys, and five girls, and inspired all to go to college, and go as far as possible and become doctors, nurses, teachers, engineers, and businessmen. He subsequently cherished the time he spent with his 32 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren. George was known for his twisted sense of humor that gave everyone something to talk about, like putting jalapeno peppers in a piñata, or putting his grandkids in a rolling trash can and hauling them around.

George enjoyed life and lived it to the fullest. He was always reading, perhaps three or more books a week. You could always tell when he read a book, because he tore a little corner off the page and ate it. He and Angela loved to travel and would take trips to Mexico, South America, Europe, and an occasional cruise. Wherever he was, he had a song in his heart, a skip in his step, and always ready to dance. Besides Angela, the one thing he loved more than anything else was his chile, the hotter the better. He never went anywhere without a few jalapeno or habanero peppers in his pocket, just in case he was in a pinch and needed it. George was known for his hard work ethic, "play hard and work hard" was his motto. After college, he took a job with Phillips Petroleum in Odessa, Texas, as a Chemical Engineer. When his father and brothers asked him to return to Las Cruces to run the family printing business, he and Angela packed up the car and came home. He ran Bronson Printing Company for 20 years, employing many family members along the way. He was the Publisher and Editor of the Dona Ana County Record. He got back into engineering working for D&S Water, which started many non-profit mutual domestic water companies throughout southern New Mexico and Texas that are still in existence today, providing domestic water to rural customers. He moved to El Paso and worked in a variety of private sector engineering positions. George and Angela returned to Las Cruces to retire in their home on Jett Street when he decided to tile the bathroom. Pleased with his handiwork he tiled the other bathroom. Feeling like he was on a roll, he tiled the kitchen, the living room, the dining room, the hallways, and every bedroom one at a time. Having run out of floors to tile, he went vertical by tiling counter tops before going outside to tile around the windows, the sidewalk, the patio, table tops, the base around the house perimeter and the mailbox.

George and Angela were active in the community, and many in their large tight group of friends were founding members of Los Pastores del Valle de Mesilla, working fundraisers at Holy Cross Retreat House and Immaculate Heart of Mary Church and School, helping to physically build Newman Center and supporting their campus ministries, as well as his service to many other non-profit organizations in Las Cruces. Standing true to his motto to work hard and play hard, that group of friends knew how to have fun. Singing songs out of a song book George printed, and dancing into the night was the norm for that bunch.

In addition to his parents Gabriel Albino Paz and Francisca Calderon-Paz, George was the last in his family to pass away among his brothers and sisters including: Benny Paz, Fannie (Louis) Serna, Carmen (Albert) Anglikowski, Gabriel (Lorraine) Paz, Raymond (Carrie) Paz, Edward Paz, and two who died in childhood - Gabriel Jose & Maria Concepcion. George's wife Angela Narvaez Paz, with whom he was married for 66 years, also preceded him in death, but he is survived by all of his twelve children: Dr. George Paz (Sandy), Richard Paz, Dr. Conchita Paz, Angelina Carver (Keith), Edward Paz, Clare Dawson (Keith), Marcos Paz, Jerry Paz (Ellen), Dr. Robert Paz (Rona), Maria Westbrook (Brett), Sara Crippen (Tyler) and James Paz (Kristine). While his grandchildren and great-grandchildren are too numerous to list, they know without a doubt he loved them and cared for each and every one of them by encouraging them to play in the freeway, adoring them with gifts of jalapeno peppers, and challenging them to catch their shadows and put it into a box.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to La Paz–Graham's Funeral Home (555 W. Amador) where a Rosary will be held on Monday, November 21, 2016 at 6:00 pm. The funeral Mass will be held at Newman Center (2615 S. Solano), on Tuesday November 22, 2016 at 11:00 am. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made out to Jardin de los Ninos at 1300-G El Paseo, PMB 272; Las Cruces, NM 88001.