Gloria Kindig

Gloria Kindig passed away on July 19th due to complications following heart surgery. She is survived by Thomas, her husband for 44 years, and son Arthur Kindig.

Gloria was born and raised in Panama, Republic of Panama. She grew up with five siblings surrounded by fruit trees and adventures. The news came in through the radio. She joined her partner, who was serving in the U.S. Army, returning to the United States in 1984. She began earning credits towards her U.S. Teaching degree at Cochise Community College while stationed at Ft. Huachuca in Arizona.

Gloria taught middle school in Las Cruces for over 20 years. After she was awarded a bachelor’s degree in education at NMSU she began her career teaching ESL and Spanish Literature in El Paso and Hatch.

She earned a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction with endorsements in TESOL and Science at NMSU, as she continued teaching at Vista middle school. In 2006 she applied for a Honeywell Space Camp for Teachers where she attended an eight-day training experience at Space Center Houston. Soon after she applied for a master's degree program at New Mexico Tech, where she earned her second master’s degree in science education - while teaching earth sciences at Picacho Middle School. In 2008 she was accepted to Honeywell Advanced Space Camp where she attended 14 days of training in Houston and Cape Canaveral. Also, at Picacho, she hosted teams to attend GUTS, a Program of the New Mexico Supercomputing Challenge. This included field trips to UNM, New Mexico Tech, Sandia Labs, and Los Alamos National Laboratories.

Teaching was her passion, and the classroom was the place where she felt most comfortable. She was a lifelong student, as well as an extraordinary teacher. Mrs. Kindig’s personal initiative was a program developed with teachers and students at Vista Middle School, called “Authors in Action” where students wrote an essay and read it in front of an audience of peers. Judges from the community evaluated the readings and chose prize winners. Gloria’s classroom was rich with colorful displays of the nations of the Americas, science posters, model rockets, and many living things. She met each student at the door and greeted them by name.

A devoted mother, she guided her son Arthur through exploratory education from Montessori School to Shuttle Camp at the Space Museum in Alamogordo. The family hobby was visiting Astronomical Observatories of the southwest. Gloria was a huge New York Yankees fan, mostly owing to Mariano Rivera. Baseball, both minor and major league games, and little league where Arthur played for several years was great fun. In 2000 the family found a new hobby. It started with a Father’s Day gift and resulted in membership in FLARE (The Fellowship of Las Cruces Area Rocketry Enthusiasts) where father, mother and son began building and flying model rockets from kits. Mom and dad continued in rocketry as Arthur became too cool for it. Over the years Gloria earned both Level 1 and Level 2 Certifications in High Power Rocketry and became a Director of Education for FLARE.

After she retired from the district, she worked for “Making Sense of Science” as a facilitator conducting teacher training around the state of New Mexico. In 2019 she and her partner started a business manufacturing rocket launch equipment for educators and hobbyists in the United States and around the world.

Her husband Thomas wishes to thank all of the former students who have approached her in public over the years to praise her & thank her and share the success of their lives with her. I know that you all understand that an angel has passed away. Our lives are all a little richer for knowing her.

Gloria’s service will be at 10:00 AM on Saturday, July 26th, 2025 at Getz Funeral Home, 1410 E. Bowman Ave. Las Cruces NM 88001.

To sign our online guestbook and for condolences please log onto www.getzcares.com.