Arthur Gilcrease
April 2, 1933 — April 8, 2012
Arthur Albert Gilcrease passed away quietly on Easter morning, April 8th, 2012 shortly after his 79th birthday. He was born near Provencal, Louisiana on April 2, 1933 to Fannie Goins and Albert Gilcrease. With his two brothers and sister he loved the freedom of the woods of Louisiana, where his father was a farmer. In 1952 Art joined the US Air Force and was stationed in Scotland wi...
Arthur Albert Gilcrease passed away quietly on Easter morning, April 8th, 2012 shortly after his 79th birthday. He was born near Provencal, Louisiana on April 2, 1933 to Fannie Goins and Albert Gilcrease. With his two brothers and sister he loved the freedom of the woods of Louisiana, where his father was a farmer. In 1952 Art joined the US Air Force and was stationed in Scotland with an Air Sea Rescue Unit. He had just met his wife Lois who accompanied him. They spent many hours in their Morris Minor seeing sights and making friends with local Scots. College followed at New Mexico A & M, now New Mexico State University, where he earned a degree in Electrical Engineering. After graduation, he began employment with the Physical Science Laboratory at NMSU, which took him to projects in Alaska, Canada, Cape Kennedy, Florida and Vandenberg AFB, California. He was a dynamic manager and had established a reputation of managing technical contracts in support of NASA for over twenty years. He had a bold vision of what needed to be done. In the 1980's Art saw an opportunity for PSL/NMSU to bid and win a large contract to manage and support the NASA Scientific Balloon Program. Almost 25 years later they still have that prime contract with NASA. Art was a warm friendly person. He cared about the people he worked with and was a strong positive influence that impacted lives. Art had a strong Christian faith by which he tried to live his life. He loved to play nickel-dim...
Arthur Albert Gilcrease passed away quietly on Easter morning, April 8th, 2012 shortly after his 79th birthday. He was born near Provencal, Louisiana on April 2, 1933 to Fannie Goins and Albert Gilcrease. With his two brothers and sister he loved the freedom of the woods of Louisiana, where his father was a farmer. In 1952 Art joined the US Air Force and was stationed in Scotland with an Air Sea Rescue Unit. He had just met his wife Lois who accompanied him. They spent many hours in their Morris Minor seeing sights and making friends with local Scots. College followed at New Mexico A & M, now New Mexico State University, where he earned a degree in Electrical Engineering. After graduation, he began employment with the Physical Science Laboratory at NMSU, which took him to projects in Alaska, Canada, Cape Kennedy, Florida and Vandenberg AFB, California. He was a dynamic manager and had established a reputation of managing technical contracts in support of NASA for over twenty years. He had a bold vision of what needed to be done. In the 1980's Art saw an opportunity for PSL/NMSU to bid and win a large contract to manage and support the NASA Scientific Balloon Program. Almost 25 years later they still have that prime contract with NASA. Art was a warm friendly person. He cared about the people he worked with and was a strong positive influence that impacted lives. Art had a strong Christian faith by which he tried to live his life. He loved to play nickel-dime poker with a group of friends he had known for about thirty years. He and his family spent many summers at their cabin in the White Mountains of Arizona, where they enjoyed fishing and hiking. Art is survived by Lois, his loving wife of 59 years, and children Zantha of Seal Beach, California, Crichton of Phoenix, Arizona and Craig of Las Cruces. He is also survived by a number of family members in Louisiana. Donations may be made to Mesilla Valley Hospice or a charity of choice. Visitation will be held Tuesday, April 10, 2012, 5-7 p.m. at Getz Funeral Home, 1410 E. Bowman Ave. Las Cruces, NM. A Celebration of Life will be held on Wednesday, April 11, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. at Mesilla Park Community Church, 3101 S. Main St., Las Cruces, NM. PDF Printable Version
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