Elio Cultreri

Age, 88 passed to the other side on April 25th after a brief battle with lung cancer. Elio came a long way for a little boy from the tiny town of Aidone Sicily. Born on February 22, 1925 in his grandfather’s villa, where he remembers picking figs from the tree in the courtyard, he immigrated to New York City when he was five years old. He described growing up in the Bronx as normal. Swimming in the east river and trips to Jones beach. He went to an all-boys math and science high school and had a job delivering ice in the summer to earn money to buy a bicycle. He built model airplanes and dreamed of becoming an aviator. In 1942, at age eighteen, Elio enlisted and served in the Army Air Corps in England. Toward the end of the war he volunteered for the infantry. Elio was on his way to the front, and within earshot of the fighting when the armistice was declared. He served the remainder of his duty in post war Germany where he met and courted the love of his life, Gisela Ningel. After returning from Europe, Elio sent for her and the two were married on 28 November 1947 in the Bronx, not far from his parents’ home. Elio was already enrolled at UNM in Albuquerque, New Mexico where he was studying education because, “the line for the Engineering School was too long, and I had enough of standing in lines during the war.” Elio lived in Albuquerque for the rest of his life. Both Gisela and Elio graduated with Master’s degrees from UNM. Elio took several part-time jobs before going to work at Sandia Labs for Stan Urevitch, who became a lifelong friend and mentor. For 14 years he was a safety engineer and traveled extensively throughout the system of labs and experimental areas. One of his main projects was promoting the use of seat belts before they became commonplace. Elio and Gisela were blessed with two children, Jasha in 1951 and Claudia Victoria in 1955. Sadly, Gisela passed in October of 1959. Clora Gathing came into the Cultreri’s lives as housekeeper in 1960, and became so much more, friend, mom, advisor, and generally the keeper of the house. In 1963 Elio married Donna Clough. One of Elio’s true loves was deer hunting but he also hunted antelope, turkey and once, elk. He and his hunting partner, Tom Martin, were always successful, but Elio said his main reason to hunt was to get out and explore unknown parts of the state. One of his favorite stories involves taking a turkey with a 3.06, and hitting it in the neck, perfectly preserving the meat on the bird. Elio and Tom began preparing income taxes, a part-time avocation that Elio continued for many years. After leaving Sandia Labs Elio sold insurance for a brief period for BMA and traveled throughout Southern New Mexico. Once he left insurance, he taught industrial arts to special needs children at Los Lunas for several years before moving into the Albuquerque Public School system until his retirement. For many years Elio was involved in and really enjoyed para-ministry and counseled and helped many people in various stages of their lives. He was also a certified massage therapist and reiki master. Throughout his life people have sought out his wise advice. He had a way of getting to the point, comforting and giving sound advice without being bossy. Many loved his quirky sense of humor. Elio was never without a joke. Just days before his passing he was discussing the weather, and mentioned with a slight grin, “I hope it’s not too hot where I’m going.” In 1991 Elio and his son traveled to Italy and Sicily to find his roots and specifically his grandfather’s villa where he was born. It turned out to be a trip of a life time. Elio is preceded in death by Gisela Cultreri, Clora Gathing, Donna Clough, and longtime friend Audrey Barnum. Elio is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Jasha and Susan Cultreri, their children Katherine Marie and John Casey and his Daughter and son-in-law Claudia Victoria and Bobby Martinez, his Brother Horace (Huck) and sister-in law Nicki three nephews, Glen, Cliff, and Anthony and three nieces, Lynn Charles, Lisa Kerby, and Karen Saunders. Elio’s headstone reads: Husband, Father, Teacher, Student. Always a student of life and one to share life’s lessons, a caring soul, a philosopher, and a jokester with an engineering mind, Elio will be missed. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, 10501 Montgomery Blvd NE, Suite 300, Albuquerque, NM 87111. There will be a viewing at FRENCH-University on Friday, May 3, 2013 from 6:00 – 8:00pm. Memorial service will be held at 11:00am Saturday May 4, 2013 at the Albuquerque Center for Spiritual Living, 2801 Louisiana Blvd NE, with interment to follow at Fairview Cemetery, 700 Yale SE.

Elio Cultreri

February 22, 1925 - April 25, 2013