Terry Lee Ernest

Terry Lee Ernest of Albuquerque, NM passed away unexpectedly on Monday, October 20, 2025 at Lovelace Medical Center with his loving family by his side.

The third of four children, Terry was born on November 18, 1953 in Joplin, Missouri to Luther L. Ernest, Jr. and Iris “Sue” Ellis. Terry grew up in Joplin, attending Joplin schools and graduating from Joplin High School in 1971. Upon graduation from high school Terry attended Missouri Southern State University in Joplin where he received an Associate’s degree. While attending Missouri Southern, Terry worked in the Engineering Department of King Press in Joplin where he gained experience in R & D and Product Engineering by designing sub-assemblies for new press models as well as updating existing product lines.

After obtaining his Associate’s degree from Missouri Southern, Terry attended college at the Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, Missouri where he graduated with a BS in Mechanical engineering in 1982 and an MS in Mechanical engineering in 1984.

In September of 1984 Terry began a 34-year professional career with the Department of Energy at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM. In 1991, as part of Sandia’s Experimental Mechanics department, Terry was awarded a patent for “Multiple Direction Vibration Fixture” referred to as the Vibrafuge (shaker/centrifuge), where Terry was instrumental in designing the right-angle fixture giving a second direction of vibration. In 1993 Terry transferred into the Interconnections Department where he worked extensively in Lightning Arrestor Connector (LAC) technology. Over the course of his career Terry authored many technical papers, presented at several technical conferences, and received numerous awards such as Employee Recognition Awards for Technical Excellence and Sandia President’s Quality Awards (PQA). Terry retired from Sandia National Laboratories in April of 2018 but maintained a part-time consulting position with Sandia.

A young, high-school-aged Terry was interested in flying and took several flying lessons. He always said he stopped when the money for lessons ran out, but in actuality an accident affecting his index finger was the likely culprit at the time. Terry spent several years working on a project at the Department of Energy’s Pinellas Plant in Largo, FL. During this time, he became reacquainted with beach life and made life-long friends in the area, which ultimately turned into annual beach vacations. He would walk into the rented one-bedroom apartment on Treasure Island, FL and sigh, “I’m home.” Terry was an avid sportsman and marksman. He enjoyed pheasant hunting with his son Anthony, ‘range-time’ with his wife and close personal friends and shooting sporting clays with friends in Albuquerque and Florida. With regard to pheasant hunting, Anthony says Terry’s catch phrase was, “if there’s lead in the air, there’s a prayer.” Pheasants were apparently quite wily opponents for these two avid hunters! Terry was not a huge sports fan, but he did enjoy an occasional baseball game. It is a testament to his love for his wife Barbara that he not only tolerated but supported her crazy baseball obsession, attending many a game with her, watching games with her on TV, and cheerfully touring various baseball stadiums around the country. Terry always said that photography could have been a career choice for him; but engineering won out. He did retain his ‘amateur’ photography status where you could usually find him behind the camera instead of in front of it. Terry, like his son Anthony and his brother Michael had a ‘green’ thumb. He could take the smallest clipping and turn it into a beautiful plant. He would end up with so many plants of various kinds over the years that he made gifts of them to family and friends in order to keep the numbers down. But that didn’t stop him from taking yet another clipping or two, or three.

Terry was preceded in death by his brother Michael and sister-in-law Susan Ernest, mother-in-law Lucille Bays, mother and father, maternal grandmother, and paternal grandparents. He is survived by his wife and partner of 35 years Barbara Bays, his loving son Anthony and daughter-in-law Jordain Ernest of Albuquerque, his brother Patrick (Cheryl) Ernest of Joplin, Missouri and his sister Teena (Joe) Maitland of Joplin, Missouri. He is also survived by three nieces and a nephew as well as several great nephews and nieces and one great-great niece, in addition to three “bonus” nieces.

A celebration of life for Terry is being planned for early spring.