Herman Maltrud

Herman Richard Maltrud, long-time Los Alamos resident, died on Friday, July 23rd, 2021.  He passed away surrounded by loving family while in hospice care in Los Alamos shortly after suffering a stroke. 

Affectionately known as “Herm,” and more commonly known as Richard or Dick, he grew up in small-town Ada, Minnesota.  The eldest of four children, Herm attended St. Olaf College, then obtained a Master’s Degree in Physics from the University of Washington.

Herm met his wife of 63 years, Nancy Steel from Baltimore, MD, in Bandelier National Monument outside of Los Alamos.  They married on November 8th, 1957.  Nancy and Richard had five children:  Kristine, Steven, Mathew and twins Ingrid and Kari (Kari died of a heart defect at 16 months old).

He worked primarily in weapons physics and retired from Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1991.  Herm was a founding board member of the Barranca Mesa Pool, and a longtime member of the Ski Patrol at Pajarito Mountain.

Herm loved the outdoors and wilderness, especially the Escalante in Utah and the mountains of New Mexico and Colorado.  An avid hiker, backpacker, skier, and bicyclist, he explored much of the western U.S., and his family took camping trips throughout the U.S. and into Sonora and Baja Mexico. After the kids left home, he and Nancy took numerous hiking and cross country skiing trips with a close-knit group of lifelong friends throughout the Southwest.

Herm also loved opera and music, and he and Nancy spent decades as patrons of the Los Alamos Concert Association, the Santa Fe Opera, and the Aspen Music Festival.  They also frequented local community concerts and musical events like the Santa Fe Desert Chorale and Concordia Santa Fe.

Herm is survived by his wife, Nancy Maltrud, of Los Alamos; his daughter Kristine Maltrud and her husband Charles Jaeger of Albuquerque, NM; his son Steve Maltrud and his wife Helen Maurine of Littleton, CO; his son Mathew Maltrud and his wife Kris Winterowd of Santa Fe, NM; his daughter Ingrid of Healdsburg, CA; and his beloved grandchildren Sarah Maltrud and fiancé Thadeaous Mighell of Denver, CO, Karin Maltrud of Denver, CO, and Lars Maltrud of Santa Fe, NM; his brother Paul Maltrud and his wife Carole of Cambridge, MN; his sister Ellen Lee of Gary, MN; his sister Alice Davis of Grand Forks, ND.  He is predeceased by his parents, Herman Maltrud and Louise Nornes Maltrud.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.  In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his name to a chosen charity.