Joe Lally

Joe Lally

James R. Lally, 80, died Wednesday, July 2, 2025 after a two-year struggle with cancer. Known as Joe to his many friends, he was a soldier, deputy sheriff, prosecutor, archaeologist, professor, husband, father and grandfather.

Joe's life was defined by one characteristic: curiosity. He taught himself to make beer, break horses, butcher hogs, load ammunition, and repair motorcycles, among so many other things. His friends came from every background and included migrant workers, truck drivers, railroad workers, machinists, journalists, law enforcement officers, fire fighters, academics, attorneys, authors and judges. Many attended the legendary goat roasts at his North Valley home. He spent years digging near Casas Grandes, Mexico with archaeologists from around the world uncovering treasures and the evidence that Joe was so intrigued by.

When serving in the Army, Joe worked in military intelligence and attained the rank of Sergeant. After an honorable discharge, the Albuquerque native returned and received a bachelor's degree from UNM. He was a Bernalillo County Sheriff's Deputy, but left the department to become a probation and parole officer. In 1977, he was accepted to UNM Law School. He graduated in 1980, passed the bar exam and went to work at the Bernalillo County District Attorney's office.

His prosecutorial career began with the prosecution of drunk drivers and vice-related cases, then methamphetamine dealers and operators of meth labs which let to the arson prosecution training program with the ATF in Glynco, Ga. All very impressive except to that motorcycle gang operating some of the labs. They put out a "hit" on Joe offering a $5,000 reward for anyone killing him. He was quite disappointed the reward was so low. In the late 1990s, Joe began working on a master's degree in Anthropology at UNM while still prosecuting auto theft cases during the day.

After retiring as a prosecutor, he completed his master's degree in 2000 and began working on his Ph.D. in Anthropology and completed it in 2005. His dissertation, Reconstructing the Cause and Origin of Structural Fires in the Archaeological Record of the Greater Southwest, used his background in arson investigation to reexamine many different claims of burned prehistoric tribal dwellings. Joe's findings, based on fire science, were that many of these fires were accidental or natural as well as ritualistic burning or warfare that was often used. His neighbors remember the highlight of his research when he set the hand-built adobe structure in the yard on fire. He didn't stop there. He worked as an archeologist out of the Bureau of Land Management, Albuquerque office, while teaching classes at TVI/CNM. The courses he taught included Introduction to Anthropology, Archaeology, Cultures of the World, Biological Anthropology, Forensic Anthropology, Fire Behavior, Fire Investigation and Legal Considerations for the Fire Service.

He and his beloved wife, Kate, traveled throughout North America finding friends and adventure everywhere. They crossed the Arctic Circle in Alaska, rode and drove to Sturgis, cruised through Going to the Sun Road in GNP and the Trans-Canada Highway, watched a baseball game from the top of the "Green Monster" at Fenway Park and as many other baseball parks as they could fit in.

Joe was preceded in death by his parents, James F. and Helen Golk Lally; and his sister, Eve Lally Johnson. He is survived by his wife, Kate Harrison Lally; son, Michael Gilbert and his wife, Marisol, 10 grandchildren, 5 boys and 5 girls and 3 great grandchildren.

His work combining fire science and archeology has been referenced in the research of many archeologists and students around the world. He was asked to speak at several Archaeological and Fire Investigative events. He was a member of the American Academy of Forensic Science, International Association of Arson Investigators, Society for American Archaeology and the State Bar of New Mexico.

Funeral arrangements are pending.