Gloria Louise Cordova

Long-time Los Alamos resident, Gloria Louise Cordova, passed away on April 18, 2016 after a 16-month struggle with pancreatic cancer. Gloria was born in Trinidad Colorado on July 31, 1938. After high school she joined the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati and graduated from their Mount St. Joseph College with a B. S. degree in chemistry. She taught math and chemistry in high schools in Denver and Trinidad, and then after leaving the community, moved to Los Alamos where she taught chemistry at the high school for 10 years. In 1979 she joined the Laboratory and over the next 20 years worked in the HR Training Office, the Affirmative Action Office and eventually became Group Leader of the Protocol Office. After retirement in 1999, she completed a Ph.D. in Human Resource Development at the Fielding Graduate University; her dissertation examined the ethnic identity of a group of Northern New Mexico Latinas.

Gloria was preceded in death by her parents, Louis Barron and Cora Carmona Cordova, of Trinidad. She is survived by her husband of 11 years Dan Winske, her sister Teresa Bell and husband Richard of Cokedale Colorado, her cousin Kimberly Souders, husband David and daughter Laurel of Santa Fe, as well as numerous other relatives, friends and colleagues.

Gloria was active in many women's organizations over the years, including the American Association of University Women (AAUW), MANA del Norte and P.E.O. She was also a well-known genealogist, tracing the roots of many of the Hispanic families of New Mexico. Throughout her long career as an educator, an administrator and a scholar, Gloria worked tirelessly to address the concerns and improve the status of working women as well as create positive change and promote education and equity for women everywhere.

A Rosary will be prayed at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church on Thursday evening at 7 PM, after which those in attendance will be invited to share their memories of Gloria. The Rite of Christian Burial celebrating her life will be held at 10 am on April 29 at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Los Alamos. Following the services, a reception will be held at Cross Roads Bible Church located at 97 East Road, Los Alamos, NM 87544. She will be buried after a 10 am church service on Monday May 2 in Trinidad. In lieu of flowers, donations in Gloria's name can be made to the Los Alamos Visiting Nurse Service or the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

The family of Gloria L. Cordova has entrusted her care to the Rivera Family Funeral Home of Espanola. Please visit our online guest book for Gloria at: riverafuneralhome.com