Pete Reyes Tartaglia

Pete R. Tartaglia, age 85, was born on January 12,1936 and passed away on Friday, April 23, 2021.
Reunited with his parents, Luis, and Theresa Tartaglia, born in McNary, Arizona and raised in Solomon, Arizona. He was one of 11 siblings, and is survived by his beloved wife, Gomesinda Tartaglia, of 65 years, on February 3, 1956.
He started his family in Albuquerque, NM on the South West side of town called Westgate. Together they had three beautiful children; son, Pete Jr. Tartaglia; grandson, Louie, wife, Tia; grandson, Pete James, wife, Amber; daughter, Rose Garcia, husband, Leroy; grandson, Leroy Jr., fiancé, Angelica; great-grandson, Jameson; and youngest grandson, Pete Garica; daughter, Ramona Torres, husband, Carlos; granddaughter, Alanze; sister, Kathy Tartaglia, and family; and brother, Benny, and family.

In 1954, he joined the Army, where he served as an anti-air artillery specialist, did a little bit of boxing with his comrades. He served overseas in Germany and was a Veteran of the United States Army and Reserves.

Dad was always a hard worker, and his work ethic was taught by hoeing in the cotton fields in Arizona. That's where we learned our core values of hard work and determination. He did not want that kind of life, so he strived to make a better life for his family and moved to Albuquerque NM. After moving to Albuquerque and starting his family. Our father started his lifelong career with the Albuquerque Fire Department working as a paramedic, and ladder truck and alarm room.

He served in our community for 28 years. Giving of himself and being so proud of working for such a respectable Department of Fire and Rescue.
During his time in AFD he had many stories to tell, but one stood out from the rest. Dad was working a fire down on 1st street and Central, a Walgreens I remember, it was a 5-alarm call, he was working on top of the building, as it collapsed, he saved one of the Deputy Chiefs from falling in that day and was a Hero, unfortunately he never got any recognition, but we knew our father was a Hero.
As a Firefighter, during Thanksgiving and Christmas, Dad would always involve his kids in delivering to the needy and giving back to the community, that was one of Dad's proudest moments.
He was heavily involved in the Union and made sure that his brothers and sisters in AFD, were treated fairly and things would run accordingly. Our father was also the cook in the Firehouse and played softball for the Fire Department, his position was the pitcher. While working, our father obtained a certification from the Technical Vocational Institute, also known as TVI. Our father was very sharp minded, wise, informative, and would always give good advice. He later retired, in 1986, as a Lieutenant from the Albuquerque Fire Department.

Our Father was so blessed to enjoy his life with his wife, children, and grandchildren.
Mom and Dad traveled around the world. He got a chance to go to Italy and look up some of the family history, but his favorite place of all, was Hawaii. Our father got to enjoy his grandchildren and whatever they were involved in, Mom and Dad were always there 30 minutes early to get the best seat in the house, as they were their pride and joy.

Our father started the first baseball team in Westgate Little League for a small team of boys. I remember him telling us the story. If the boys won, he would drive them all around Westgate honking and celebrating their victory, an ice cream from the little store was given to them for a good game. If they lost, well they walked home, it gave them time to reflect on mistakes that day, and what maybe they could have done better, it is life lessons like that I remember.


Dad and Mom were involved with church ministry and would go to the prisons, they would read and teach about the bible. Our father was also involved in St. Vincent de Paul for the needy.
Every Thanksgiving you could always count on Dad feeding the homeless in the downtown shelters, they also would conduct weekends of Christian living, through Holy Rosary Catholic Church. Our father was always teaching us to be grateful and thankful for what we had and never take anything for granted.

Dad was always involved in Politics, working the Census, voting polls, and being involved in Political Parties in and around NM, people respected our father, his opinion, and his trustworthiness. He got invited twice to the white house it was going to be a Black-Tie affair to meet with, Mr. George Bush Sr. but, unfortunately, he was not able to attend. But he sure did brag about it for years, our father felt so special and recognized for his long-life accomplishments, he still had the invitation.

Dad was a hunter which he enjoyed with his son, grandsons, nephews, friends, neighbors and sometimes just him and mom. I remember Dad and my brother would go hunting every year the Friday after Thanksgiving, mom would pack up our little Shasta trailer and we would head out to Corona, NM, it was one of their favorite spots, and we always came home with Beef Jerky.

Sundays were always special to Dad for two reasons, he loved his Lord and praised, worshipped, and gave thanks to our Almighty King on that day. The other was to watch his Dallas Cowboy games, he loved to watch with his family surrounding him with food and laughter. He would always say "You think they'll go to the Superbowl this year?". We will miss those times the most.

Dad you were a Pillar of our Community and most important to our family, you will be truly missed by so many. I know God gave you a special gift of unconditional love, that you shared with so many, you will be forever in our hearts. You were a father figure to many; I love to hear the stories from family and friends about how you touched so many lives. Your advice, your support, and your stories I will miss the most. We were truly blessed to have such a great example of a father like you. You loved us unconditionally, you taught us, supported us, mostly, prepared us for life's challenges.
But Dad this one, is one, that we may not be prepared for.
We know, through God's strength, love, peace, and knowing you will be our Guardian Angel, we will find refuge and serenity in that. We promise to carry the morals you instilled in us, your legacy and above all your loving example that you lived by and taught us, for the rest of our lives.

This is not Good-Bye, but, until we meet again.
Your Family and Friends
We Love you Dad, with all our heart's.

Matthew: 25:23
Well done, my good and faithful servant, well done.
May you find Rest and Peace in his loving Arms.
Dad, your work here is done...

A Funeral Service will be held on Friday, May 7, 2021 at 10:30 a.m., Sagebrush Community Church, 6440 Coors Blvd NW in Albuquerque. Burial will be held on Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 11:15 a.m., Santa Fe National Cemetery, 511 N. Guadalupe St. in Santa Fe, NM.