Robert Gurule

Robert “Roberto” Gurule of Santa Fe passed away in the early morning of December 19. He was 67. 

Robert lived a remarkable life. He was born in Raton, NM, and grew up in Continental Divide, NM, where his father worked at a uranium mine. As a child, he and his friends would sneak up on wild horses and jump on their backs for a wild ride as long as they could stay on. After attending middle and high school in Thoreau, NM, Robert briefly worked as a miner with his father. However, with the encouragement of his middle school English teacher, Robert decided to pursue college and graduated with a degree in computer science from Northern Arizona University. He was the first in his family to attend college.

After college, he worked in Flagstaff, AZ for the USGS, where he developed software for satellite image processing and planetary cartography. While living there, he found a passion for running, and accomplished feats including a Grand Canyon rim-to-rim-to-rim and the Imogene Pass Run. He moved to the Santa Fe area in 1989 to work as a software engineer at LANL, where he was employed until retiring in 2020. 

Robert was a creative tinkerer, and designed and built a beautiful, airy house near Española. He loved wood carving, and hand-carved several custom fixtures in the house.

After retirement, he pursued photography, home renovation, and mushroom foraging. He was also passionate about skiing, cycling, fly-fishing, and running. Throughout his life, Robert was gregarious and charming. He could make friends with anybody, and was the life of a party. He was also sensitive and empathetic, and deeply cared about the people around him. Most of all, he was always unabashedly himself, and relished going against the grain.

He was preceded in death by his parents Eliseo and Luby Gurule, and by his uncle, Ben Gurule. He is survived by his child Hazel Gurule, by siblings Ben Gurule, Steven Gurule, and Judy Hilson, and by many nieces and nephews. He also leaves behind a beloved dog and a cat. 

A memorial service will be held on 12/26 at 125 Camino Encantado. The service will be open to in-person and virtual attendees, and details are available at https://fb.me/e/pgO5a6dak