In Memoriam
Sabine
Ulibarrí
Sabine
Ulibarrí, professor emeritus in the Spanish and Portuguese
Department, died Saturday, Jan. 4, at age 83.
An institution
in the Modern Languages Department, Ulibarrí was also
poet, author, scholar and lecturer. As a writer in both Spanish
and English, he made significant contributions to the body of
Chicano and New Mexican Hispano literature.
Born and
raised in Tierra Amarilla, he earned his bachelors and
masters degrees at the University of New Mexico. He earned
his Ph.D. at the University of California at Los Angeles.
The consummate
educator, his first publication, Spanish for the First
Grade, was published in 1955. His most recent publication,
Mayhem was our business-memorias de un veterano,
was published in 1997 and dealt with his years in the U.S. Air
Force where he flew in 35 combat missions over Europe. He earned
the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal.
Among his
other works is Governor Glu Glu & other stories,
and Tierra Amarilla: cuentos de Nuevo Mexico.
Many
Hispanic professionals are writing their memoirs and the Chicano
experience, but none come close to the caliber of Ulis
[Ulibarrís] writings, said Tony Cárdenas,
professor in Spanish and Portuguese.
He
had a great sense of humor, the quickest, most agile mind on
a human being, Cárdenas said.
His reputation
as a speaker was such that people said that he could read the
phone book and it would sound good and people would hang on
every word, he said.
Among his
many awards is the Regents Meritorious Service Medal and the
UNM Distinguished Alumni Award.