John F. Eichelmann III

"No day shall erase you from the Memory of Time." Virgil John "was a man whose life both displayed and sought out true integrity." Thanks to John LaFarge for that beautiful quote. He was a man of great dignity and impeccable honor. His creed was simple. God, country, family. Adherence to the Ten Commandments dominated his life and he lived by them. All his life John did his duty with his whole heart and soul, often to his own personal detriment, but always guided by his strong and simple faith in God. He had no deviousness in him. He was not a complicated man. He had a dry and subtle wit. He loved his weekly golf games in Santa Fe with his friends and he showed his love for them by always making cinnamon rolls to take to those 8 a.m. tee-off times. John was the bravest man I know. He was truly shy with the soul and temperament of a solitary scholar but he got up every morning, donned his armor and went out to slay dragons at the Roundhouse. John had a brilliant mind proved by his 14 patents which El Paso Energy bought off him for $1.00 apiece. Many of his water treatment inventions are still in use today, and a company that spun off from Burlington Northern is still going strong in Seattle with 50 employees. He was rightfully very proud of that accomplishment. When he was a medtech in the Air Force from 1956-1961, he saved the lives of countless preemies with his invented techniques for drawing blood from newborns. In his time at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, he performed over 800 autopsies on airmen. John won a full scholarship to Rice University to study toxicology because he wanted to be a doctor. His father became ill and his mother needed his help so he went back to El Paso and instead pleased his father by getting a Chemical Engineering degree at what became UTEP-while also working full time in the lab at Hotel Dieu. John married the late Charlene Espedal and they had three children, Gretchen, John and Bridgette. He was a devoted husband and father. He relished his role of grandfather to the point of absurdity! In grocery stores and restaurants, he would always talk to the little ones and babies--often to the consternation of their mothers, and I was forever explaining to cautious mothers that he was a frustrated grandfather because our grandchildren were scattered across the country. In his time John wore many hats--rancher, market gardener, poultry farmer, med tech, chemical engineer, husband, father, step-father, grandfather, Director of State and Regulatory Affairs for El Paso Natural, a true knight in shining armor to many little old ladies who he rescued at the side of the road when their cars broke down or they were lost. John leaves behind his three children and their spouses, Gretchen and husband, Mike Brennand and children, William and Cassie; John F. Eichelmann IV and wife, Gail and children, Alex and Katy, Bridgette and husband, Ben Widner, Brianna and Ben Jr.; step-children, David Presley and wife, Christina and children, Davin, Rebecca Presley Kersey and husband, Jim and Edward and Elizabeth; his maternal cousin, Mary Sisson; and many nieces and nephews from his late wife, Charlene's side of the family through her brother, Ernest Espedal and his wife, Dorothy; and his second wife, Diane who was blessed with his presence in marriage for 16 years. A Rosary will be recited Monday, November 18, 2013, 9:00 a.m., at The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, 131 Cathedral Pl., in Santa Fe. Mass of Christian Burial will follow the rosary. Interment will follow at Rosario Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions may be made to the New Mexico VA Healthcare System, 1501 San Pedro Dr. SE, Albuquerque, NM 87108, because of their superb care and kindness which his family cannot praise enough.