Joe Teresi, 97, died peacefully at home in Albuquerque on December 27, 2015, with family by his side.
Joe was born in Pittsburgh, PA, on April 20, 1918. He came to work and study at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque in 1939, then relocated to Carnegie Institute in Washington D.C. in 1941-42, where he was instrumental to the development of the artillery proximity fuze, one of the most important technological innovations of World War II. Joe returned to the UNM Physics Department to continue work on military defensive devices until 1948, at which time he joined Sandia National Laboratories to continue his career for 34 years as a safety and quality assurance engineer.
Joe is survived by his daughter, Jerlene Teresi; grandson, Jesse Tucker; sister, Claramae Wertman; and other wonderful relatives. He is also survived by half a dozen "kids", fortunate enough to be raised by Joe as family and to remember his fantastic Monday Night Buffets for all.
Joe was a natural engineer, architect and artist. Over many fruitful years, he designed and built "things". He built quality furniture. He designed and built boomerangs. As a calligrapher, Joe was well known for his artistic and humorous personal greeting cards. He even designed and constructed his beautiful and innovative home.
Joe was a lifelong athlete. As one might guess, he not only made boomerangs, he threw them artfully too. He played softball, tennis, skied and sailed, tossed horse shoes and corn bags. He was always cheerful.
He embraced deeply the beauty and potential of life and helped all around him to see the splendor. You could count on him. If you were down, Joe would bring you up. If you were up, Joe would elevate you higher. He never failed to provide his gift of appreciation for life to others. Now it's our turn to carry his example. "Remember the wonderful times together." Welcome the beautiful times to come. Thank you, Joe.