Donald Craig Protz

Protz, Donald Craig
Donald Craig Protz lost his battle with cancer and went to be with his Lord and Saviour on April 14, 2017 in his eightieth year.  He was born on December 4, 1937 in Wallace, Idaho to Donald Eugene and Helen Hart Protz who preceded him in death along with his sister Margaret.  He is survived by his wife of 58 years Janeda, son David Protz and wife Cheryl, daughter Donna Weaver and husband Charles, and grandchildren Jared Protz, Zak Protz, Kasey Weaver and Chase Weaver.  He is also survived by his brother William O. Protz and 4 nieces and nephews. Craig has been a resident of New Mexico for most of his life. His family moved to Carlsbad when he was six years old where he graduated from Carlsbad High School in 1955.  He and Jan were married on January 3, 1959 and following graduation from college, they lived in Roswell for 12 years, Las Cruces for 12 years, and finally Corrales for the past 31 years. He graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Architecture in 1961 and began his internship with Frank Standhardt in Roswell.  He became licensed to practice Architecture in New Mexico in 1965 with license number 349.  In 1971 he formed a partnership known as Wall and Protz to practice architecture and performed work around Southeastern New Mexico.  The firm soon became known for detention facilities being contracted to provide architectural services for Luna County, Hidalgo County, Chaves County, and the Dona Ana County Courts Building.  In 1975 they formed an association with Joe Boehning of Albuquerque and were awarded a contract for the Bernalillo Correction Facility in downtown Albuquerque.  During this time period Craig was the principal architect for buildings on the NMSU Alamogordo campus that included a new Library, remodeling of the former Library into a Student Union, a Theater, the Planetarium and Learning Resource Center. The Bernalillo Detention project led to a new partnership of Boehing & Protz.  Some notable projects for this firm were Aggie Memorial Stadium, NMSU Agriculture Building, PNM, State of New Mexico Office Building in Santa Fe, addition to Memorial General Hospital in Las Cruces.  In later years he became involved with Pueblos during a partnership with Wayne Andrews that included a shopping center for Pohaque.  He then worked independently with the Pueblos of Zia and Picuris on senior centers and a gymnasium for Picuiris.  Lastly, he closed his private practice and became a construction supervisor for the firms of CBL, BPLW, and Weller Architects.  He was fortunate to leave his mark on the entire state of New Mexico from Espanola to Silver City. Service organizations were always important to Craig.  At various times he was a member of Sertoma International, Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs.  He was an active member of the American Institute of Architects for many years and served as the founding secretary of the National Student Association of AIA.  As a member of the Southern New Mexico Chapter of AIA, he served as President and other positions.  In 2002, he was elected to the Board of Goodwill of New Mexico and served as its Chairman of the Board for 3 years beginning in 2009.  During his tenure with Goodwill he was instrumental in the construction or remodeling of stores in Santa Fe, Clovis, Roswell, and Farmington along with Albuquerque stores on San Mateo, El Paseo, Menaul, Coors, Juan Tabo Training Facility, the Rio Rancho store, Alameda store and recent planning of the proposed Los Lunas store. A Celebration of Life will be held Sunday, may 14, 2017 from 3:00pm-5:00pm at Casa Vieja, 4541 Corrales Rd. Corrales, NM .  The family requests that memorial contributions be made to Goodwill of New Mexico, in the name of Craig Protz, 5000 San Mateo Blvd., Albuquerque, NM 87109. To view information or leave a condolence, please visit www.danielsfuneral.com  
Daniels Family Funeral Services
4310 Sara Road SE
Rio Rancho, NM 87124
505-892-9920