Felix Garver Corle Jr.

Felix Garver Corle, Jr. died December 12, 2013 at his home near Placitas, New Mexico, surrounded by loving members of his family. He was a retired civil engineer, water resources planner and land surveyor, and at the time of his death he was eighty-six years old. Felix was born on February 19, 1927 to Felix Garver Corle, Sr. and Anna Elsa Rooks Corle in the gas-company town of Herd, Oklahoma. The family, including Felix�s older brother Albert, moved to eastern New Mexico in 1931, and in 1933 settled permanently in Clovis, New Mexico. Felix�s life was a classic American up-by-the-bootstraps story. After his mother died in 1934, Felix was reared by his father. They endured grinding poverty and Felix had to work even as a boy, but he stayed in school and graduated from Clovis High School in May, 1946. He was a good enough high school basketball player to get a couple of scholarship offers from small colleges, but he chose instead to work his way through the University of New Mexico. Felix met Nettie Mae Hubbard of Farmington, New Mexico at UNM. They married in Farmington on January 29, 1950. In May, 1950 Felix received his BSCE degree from UNM, and he and Nettie moved to Stockton, California. While in California he worked for the Bureau of Reclamation, primarily on projects in the Sacramento River basin and delta. In late 1952 they returned to New Mexico and he took a job with the Albuquerque District of the Army Corps of Engineers. In 1954 he received his professional engineer�s license and his land surveyor�s license. In 1964 he earned an advanced engineering certificate in water resources planning. Felix spent the last years of his career as chief of the planning and reports branch of the Corps� Albuquerque district office. Among his accomplishments were his work on the �Big Ditch� flood control project in Albuquerque and his role as project planner on Cochiti Reservoir. He retired from the Corps in March, 1982. Toward the end of his career and following his retirement Felix and Nettie traveled and otherwise enjoyed the rewards of their years of hard work and frugality. After Nettie�s death in 1983 Felix continued his travels, often in the company of his good friend Mary Kelly. He was an inveterate do-it-yourselfer; in the 1960s and 1970s he built the home in which he ultimately died. He was also an enthusiastic amateur painter and student of history. Felix and Nettie had three children: Gregory Hubbard Corle, Steven Garver Corle, and Gayle Ann Corle Green. All three survive. Felix is also survived by four grandchildren: Adrin Anne Green, Damon Paul Green, Samuel Carson Corle, and Nathan Reece Corle, and by two great-grandchildren, Stavia Anu Kasehagen and Corbin Garver Kasehagen. No services are planned. In lieu of flowers or other remembrances, the family asks that you make a contribution to the Watermelon Ranch, which was one of Felix�s favorite charities. Their mailing address is: Watermelon Mountain Ranch, 1512 Deborah Road SE, # 203, Rio Rancho, NM 87124.