A MEMORIAL

HONORING THE LATE CHRISTEL ANGELICA CHAVEZ.

WHEREAS, Captain Christel Angelica Chavez died co-piloting her United States air force combat talon II C-130 transport in Puerto Rico on August 7, 2002; and

WHEREAS, Christel Angelica Chavez was a fourteenth generation New Mexican, born in Albuquerque, November 19, 1974; and graduated from Albuquerque high school in 1993; and

WHEREAS, Captain Chavez was a 1998 graduate of the United States air force academy; and

WHEREAS, Captain Christel Chavez, one of the youngest Air Force pilots, received her pilot's wings at the Corpus Christi naval air station in Texas before being assigned to Air Force special operations at Hurlburt Field, Florida; and

WHEREAS, Christel excelled at all her chosen pursuits, making the New Mexico women's high school basketball all-state first team in both her junior and senior years; and

WHEREAS, her family, friends and classmates remember her unquenchable joie de vivre and passionate pursuit of excellence in all things she undertook; and

WHEREAS, among her favorite activities, in addition to flying and basketball, were hiking her beloved Sangre de Cristo mountains, especially the Lake Katherine area below Santa Fe baldy, and fly fishing, which she learned from her dad, Tom; and

WHEREAS, one of Christel's most endearing leadership traits was her consistent and generous encouragement of others in their efforts, whether the focus was athletic competition or dealing with life-threatening illness; and

WHEREAS, Captain Chavez was fiercely proud of her New Mexico heritage, and will be remembered as a person who embraced life fully and lived her childhood dream to be a pilot; and

WHEREAS, Christel was the daughter of Albuquerque banker Jennifer Townsend of Tijeras and former palace of the governors' director Tom Chavez, now director of the national Hispanic cultural center, and sister of Spanish museum of colonial art assistant director Nicolasa Chavez of Albuquerque;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that sincere condolences be extended to the family and friends of United States Air Force Captain Christel Angelica Chavez of Albuquerque; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the parents and sister of Captain Christel Chavez.