John Dantis

John Phillip Dantis passed away on Tuesday, February 27, 2024, after a hard-fought battle with cancer. He was preceded in death by his father, Nick L. Dantis; mother, Beginia Delgado Dantis; brother, Nick "Nicky" Dantis; beloved son, John "JJ" Dantis; and numerous uncles and aunts. He is survived by his beautiful wife of 53 years, Judy Dantis; daughter, Melissa Waller and her husband, Joses Waller; son, Jamie Dantis; two grandchildren, Nikos and Eleni Waller; and two younger sisters (and their husbands), Lena and Carmen Gonzales, and Linda and Leonard Romero.

He was born in Santa Fe on July 1, 1946, attended El Rito Boarding School, and served in the United States Marine Corps including one tour of duty in Vietnam. John attended The College of Santa Fe achieving a BA in Social Work. While there he was a dedicated member of the Tao Kappa Epsilon (TKE) Fraternity where he made life-long brothers. He received his MSW in Social Work from New Mexico Highlands' first graduating class.

John's career as a public safety servant is a long and distinguished one. He began his vocation as a juvenile probation officer for Rio Arriba County. He then worked for the NM Supreme Court becoming the coordinator of Juvenile Probation Services for the State of NM. He accepted a position with Clark County Juvenile Court Services in Las Vegas, NV where he supervised multiple divisions. In March 1991 he returned to NM with his family to work as the Director of the Bernalillo County Juvenile Detention Center, then served as the Director of the Bernalillo County Adult Detention Center. As the Deputy County Manager of Public Safety for Bernalillo County, John was involved in helping to develop and implement a multitude of public safety initiatives. Some of the most notable include the design and construction of: the Metropolitan Detention Center, the Department of Substance Abuse Programs, the Office of Emergency Management, and conveying the old metro court building into the Bernalillo County Public Safety Center. He oversaw the creation and implementation of the MATS program (Metropolitan Assessment Treatment Services) and helped to allocate funding for the creation of Serenity Mesa youth treatment center.

John wanted to acknowledge the love and untiring efforts from his family and close friends for helping him through several health issues, and wanted people to know he would not have gotten through those challenging times without them. John wanted to acknowledge all of the support and friendship from former commissioners Steve Gallegos, Alan Armijo, Tim Cummings, and Dina Archuleta. Also, his heartfelt thanks to friends Sammy Herbert and JC Lopez.

John's funeral mass will take place Friday, March 22, 2024, 9:45 a.m. at Risen Savior Catholic Community, 7701 Wyoming Blvd. NE, in Albuquerque. A reception will directly follow the mass at The Event Center at Sandia Golf Club (between the spa and golf restaurant), 30 Rainbow Rd. NE. From the reception John will be taken to the Santa Fe National Cemetery where he will receive full military honors at 2:30 p.m.