Dale Amend

Dale Norman Amend, 92, went to be with the Lord on January 2, 2025. His wife, Nancy, was at his side. Dale was born in Rocky Ford, Colorado to Lewis and Sappho Amend. His parents were farmers, and he was the youngest of five children. Dale graduated from Rocky Ford High School, where he was Senior Class President. He attended college at Colorado A&M (now CSU) and earned a degree in Agriculture. There, he met the love of his life, Nancy Lou Garfield, and they were married for 69 years. Dale and Nancy have four children: Steve, Jim (Melanie), Marshall (Deanna) and Elaine (Brian). They also have eight Grandchildren and five Great-grandchildren.

Lt. Col. Dale Amend had a 24-year career in the US Air Force. He served in Vietnam from October 1965 through September 1966 as a Forward Air Controller (FAC) pilot. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Bronze Star. Afterward, he taught at the USAF Academy for four years. While in the AF, he earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado. After retiring, Dale and Nancy began a second career buying, fixing up and selling fifty houses in Albuquerque. They also enjoyed traveling throughout the US, Canada and Mexico and accumulated 224,000 miles on their various RVs.

Dale had a beautiful tenor voice and sang in church choirs and civic productions. He enjoyed playing and watching tennis and golf, playing cards and games with family and visiting neighbors. He rode his bicycle extensively, including up to the summit of Independence Pass in Colorado, elevation 12,095 feet at age 80! Dale and Nancy are long-time members of St. John's United Methodist Church. Perhaps one of his favorite activities was gardening and giving away lots of vegetables to family and friends. Dale continued his father's tradition of growing gladiola flowers to give to hospital patients and homebound people.

A celebration of the life of Dale Amend will take place on February 15, 2025, at 2:00PM at St. John's United Methodist Church, 2626 Arizona Street NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110.

You can make a donation to the St. John’s United Methodist Church Garden Ministry Fund.

You can donate to a charity of your choice in memory of Dale Amend.