Cordell Gilford Puckett

Cordell Gilford Puckett, age 81, passed away peacefully with his family and a good family friend, Jim Lenfesty, by his side on Wednesday, February 3, 2016. Cordell was born in Paducah, Texas in 1934. He moved to California during the dust bowl era with his parents when he was 28 months old. Then they moved to Arizona for awhile and then on to a cooler, dryer Albuquerque in 1945 for his health. Cordell graduated from Albuquerque High School in 1953. He received his military draft notice on April 1st and took most of the day to discover that it was not a joke. He served from 1957 to 1959 in the U.S. Army. After his military service he worked for the telephone company as a draftsman. He then worked at the American Car and Foundry (ACF) in Albuquerque as a draftsman. He also worked through ACF in Los Alamos and at the Nevada Test Site. During that time he lived in Las Alamos with his wife, Susan for five years. When ACF turned into General Electric he moved back to Albuquerque and worked for them. During that time he decided that he didn't want to sit at a desk as a draftsman forever and went back to school to become a teacher. Upon graduating from UNM in 1986 he started teaching at Albuquerque High School. For the next 30 years he taught many different industrial arts classes at Albuquerque High, Highland High, and also School On Wheels. Cordell loved books and has a collection of probably over 3000 books at his home. He loved reading and studying and also loved preparing lesson plans for his classes. He had a definite thirst for knowledge. Cordell's friends were always amazed that he knew something about everything. His love for teaching even broadened into the weekends where he taught Sunday School at his church, Trinity Methodist, for an equal 30 years. Cordell enjoyed traveling with his family to many states, visiting many museums, zoos, and art galleries along the way. Many camping trips were included in his travels. Cordell was preceded in death by his parents, Emmett and May Puckett. He truly loved his family. He leaves behind his wife, Susan; his only son, Paul; his mother in law, Margaret Myers; and his brother-in-law and sister-in-law, John and Betty Schaefer. The Memorial Service will be Saturday, February 20th, 2016, 11:00 a.m. at FRENCH -Lomas.