Nemey Arellano

J. Nemey Amado (meaning “loved one”) Arellano, born September 21, 1921, passed away on September 25, 2017. He left this earthly plane and will be missed dearly. Though we can’t see or touch him anymore, we hold him inside of our hearts – his memory lovingly wrapped and carried forever in our souls.

As a nine-year-old son of itinerant farm workers, Nemey watched his father pass from a condition he termed “working himself to death.”

In the midst of the Great Depression, at the tender age of 16, with his mother’s passing also, Nemey found himself in the position of having to financially support his four siblings by joining the Civilian Conservation Corp aka “CC Camp.”

He then joined the Navy where he became a navigator in the North Atlantic on a cruiser called USS Cockrill, which escorted a supply ship to Europe during WWII. More than once his ship was torpedoed, but never suffered a direct hit.

It wasn’t long before he was promoted to Chief Quarter Master and married his high school sweetheart Helen Jean Stevens on February 6, 1945.

When reminiscing, Nemey always went back to one of his happiest days of his life, while entering the Panama Canal he learned that the atomic bomb had been dropped on Japan and the war had ended.

After being discharged from the Navy, he attended Milwaukee School of Engineering and transferred to Long Beach State College, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. He then became an engineer for Rockwell International, which would lead to the moon landings and the space shuttle.

Then three children came along, Rick, Kathee, and Suzanne, and Nemey and Helen's beautiful family was complete. Nemey enjoyed playing golf and bridge, bowling, running, fishing, gardening and exploring the United States with his family. As a grandfather, he loved having his grandchildren scurry around the room fighting over sitting on his lap. Often he acted like a bear, growling with his arms above his head, chasing the kids around the room as they ran around screaming. Nemey’s love for his precious wife manifests itself most when he took on the role of caregiver to Helen in her later years. After 57 years of marriage, at the age of 78, Helen predeceased Nemey by entering eternal rest in 2003.

Nemey was a hardworking, strong, loving, gentleman, and devoted man of Faith. For many years, he had a servant’s heart and actively served his church congregation in the Knights of Columbus. He was a deeply compassionate man that rarely uttered an unkind word about anyone. He truly believed that you should do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and he always set that example.

Nemey was preceded in death by his siblings, Mabel, Leo, Onofre and Olivia. He is survived by his children, Richard Arellano and wife Virginia Clark, Kathleen Macias and husband Vince Macias and Suzanne Ciardella and husband Roy Ciardella, and his grandchildren, Lana Wilson, Brooke Preston, Nolan Ciardella and Nathan Ciardella.

A Rosary will be held Friday, October 6, 2017 at 8:15 a.m. at St. Josephs on the Rio Grande Catholic Church, 5901 St. Josephs Drive, NW, Albuquerque, NM 87120, followed by a Mass at 9:00 a.m. A Burial Service will be held on Friday, October 6, 2017 at 12:45 p.m. at Santa Fe National Cemetery.

Please visit our online guestbook for Nemey at www.frenchfunerals.com.

FRENCH – Westside

9300 Golf Course Rd. NW

(505) 897-0300