John "Jock" Fleming

John Lighthall (“Jock”) Fleming, 87, of Taos, died December 5, 2015. The son of Col. William D. and Katherine L. Fleming, Jock was born in Washington, DC, in 1928. An “army brat,” his childhood homes included the Philippine Islands, Bedloe’s (now Liberty) Island, and Edgewood Arsenal, MD. In 1943, he moved with his mother and sisters to Boulder, CO, while his father was serving in England. There he met his future wife, Doris J. “Dee” Henderson, a classmate at Boulder HS. After high school graduation, Jock attended CU, Boulder, for two years, then transferred to Colorado A & M (now CSU) where he earned his degree in Forestry in 195l. In the summer of 1949, Jock was a smoke jumper, working out of Missoula, MT. Jock and Dee married on June 8, 1950, and moved to Taos, where Jock began working at Pot Creek Logging and Lumber. In December 1951 he was drafted into the US Army, one of the first married draftees of the Korean War. Attaining the rank of Corporal during his two years of service in infantry and then engineering companies, Jock earned a Korean Service Medal with 2 bronze stars, a United Nations Service Medal, and a Combat Infantry Badge. After honorable discharge from the Army, Jock and Dee returned to Taos, where they have lived, on and off, for the past 65 years. Jock worked for Pot Creek in Taos and Alamosa, CO, and when Pot Creek closed in 1960, he started his career with the US Forest Service. He worked on the Carson National Forest in Taos and Penasco, on the Kaibab National Forest in Williams, AZ, and back on the Carson Forest in Taos and Questa. After retiring from the FS in 1982, Jock worked for 14 seasons at Taos Ski Valley, training and managing lift operators. Jock was an avid skier, fly fisherman, tennis player, and recreational shooter; a staunch conservative Republican; and a devoted member of St. James Episcopal Church, serving several terms on the vestry. In later years he enjoyed volunteering with the Taos Lions Club, especially at the Tio Vivo during Fiestas. Jock was preceded in death by his parents and his two sisters, Sarah “Sally” Griffin and Elizabeth “Betsy” Aspinwall. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Dee H. Fleming; his children Barbara F. Quijada (Frank), John D. Fleming (Ann Bieri), and Malcolm H. Fleming (Susan Nedell); his grandchildren, Gabriel and Miguel Quijada, Andrew and Evan Fleming, Maxwell and Anne Fleming; one great grandson, Sebastian Quijada; six nieces and six nephews. A memorial service for Jock is planned for December 30, 2015, at St. James Episcopal Church, Taos at 1:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Trout Unlimited, the Taos Land Trust, or a local charity of your choice. Arrangements by Rivera Family Funeral Home.