Dr. Lester Martin Libo

Lester Martin Libo, Ph.D, Founding Member and Professor Emeritus of the Department of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of New Mexico, author, Jewish-American World War II veteran, and member of the Albuquerque Art and Cultural community, died peacefully on the evening of June 12 surrounded by his family. He was 91 years old. Dr. Libo was born in Chicago, Illinois on September 18, 1923 to Leopold and Anita Libo, escapees from Czarist Russia. After completing his sophomore year at the Central YMCA College (now Roosevelt University) in Chicago, he entered the U.S. Army as part of the Allied Forces in post-WWII Europe from 1943-1946. Initially a member of the infantry, Dr. Libo rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant and moved into military government where he had charge of the de-Nazification process in Germany. Dr. Libo was interviewed by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. during the summer of 2012 to record and preserve his testimony of these events. After completion of his military service, Dr. Libo leveraged the G.I. Bill and attended the University of California, Berkeley, and entered an advanced Masters/Doctoral program which he completed at Stanford University in 1948 and 1951, respectively. Upon graduation, Dr. Libo received a research fellowship at the University of Michigan Research Center for Group Dynamics until 1953, whereupon he transferred to the University of Maryland School of Medicine as Chief Psychologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Libo’s journey to the southwest began in 1957 when he was asked to spearhead the Division of Mental Health for the New Mexico Department of Public Health in Santa Fe. He arrived at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in 1963 – one year prior to the school’s actual opening – to develop a behavioral science program with a community service orientation. From 1965 to 1967, Dr. Libo served as planning coordinator for the mental health center and led the group that not only created the facility, but also the early program structure. In 1968, he was planning coordinator for the City of Albuquerque-UNM Comprehensive Alcoholism Program, and was primary author of the grant that funded this program which later became the responsibility of the University. From 1969-1970, he received a research fellowship with the National Institute of Mental Health in Bergen, Norway. In 1973, Dr. Libo started his seminal research program into the use of biofeedback mechanisms for the self-regulation of stress and chronic pain – a program that has since expanded into the regular course of patient treatment today. He is also credited with being the most significant individual in the creation of the Bernalillo County Mental Health Center. Dr. Libo left the University in 1983 to enter private practice, which he performed for nearly 10 years before his retirement in 1992. While Dr. Libo’s professional aspirations lay within the medical community, his personal interests expanded well beyond. An adoptive son of the southwest, Dr. Libo embraced the Albuquerque arts culture and served as the Vice President of the Contemporary Art Society of New Mexico from 1980-1992. Upon his retirement from the medical profession, he was the founder and CEO of ArtReach, serving as an art consultant and dealer representing various artists in Albuquerque and Santa Fe until 2012. Dr. Libo is also the author of several books, including two fiction novels published in 2010 and 2013. He was also passionate about listening to jazz music, and an avid fan of the UNM Lobos basketball team. Aside from being a veteran, renowned psychologist, arts enthusiast, prolific author and pillar of the Albuquerque community, Dr. Libo is the beloved patriarch of a large blended and extended family. He is the husband of Mary Ann Conley, Ph.D., and father of Victor Libo of Albuquerque (Dedee Libo); Felicia Libo of Durango, CO; Lesley Libo Katz of Leesburg, VA (Gary Katz); the late Gina Libo; as well as stepfather of Clifton “Beau” Chadwick (Terrie Hertweck) and Christopher Chadwick (Coco Chadwick) of Albuquerque. Dr. Libo is also grandfather to Maggie Feil, Hannah Feil (Adam Greenhood), Emily Wilbert McGough (Tim McGough), Anilu Chadwick, Thomas Wilbert, Sam Feil (Jordan Mars), Elisa Chadwick, Letty Chadwick, Christopher Chadwick Jr and Susannah Katz. A memorial service will be held for Dr. Libo at the UNM Alumni Chapel on Tuesday, June 16th from 6 to 7 PM. Doors open at 5:30 PM. The chapel is located at Las Lomas and Redondo behind parking lot C on campus. The building number is 25 on the UNM maps and directory. Unreserved parking for the memorial has been approved in lot C. Donations in Dr. Libo’s memory may be made to the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History at www.albuquerquemuseum.org/support/giving FRENCH – Wyoming 7121 Wyoming Blvd. NE (505) 823-9400

Dr. Lester Martin Libo

September 18, 1923 - June 12, 2015