Willard was 78.
“Larry was committed to making New Mexico a better place to live as much as anybody I ever knew, and was one of the most positively impactful leaders New Mexico has had in recent memory,” said friend Steve Moise, the state’s investment officer. “He worked to improve our educational system and our business climate and wanted every child to have the opportunity to receive a quality education, get a good job and move up the economic ladder.”
As part of that goal, Willard endowed a number of libraries, including the Willard Reading Room at the University of New Mexico Zimmerman Library, and the Gerald and Betty Ford Library at the Bosque School.
ALBUQUERQUE — On Wednesday afternoon, Air Force officials announced the location of the permanent headquarters for the United States Space Command. Unfortunately, New Mexico’s Kirtland Air Force Base (KAFB) was not chosen.
Sherman McCorkle, board member of the Kirtland Partnership Committee, told the Daily Lobo that Alabama’s Redstone Army Airfield was chosen as the site for the headquarters.
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller isn’t giving up on the project, however.
“By showcasing our space technology expertise and long history of government contracting,
Officials tour possible Space Command site at New Mexico’s Kirtland Air Force Base The Associated Press (Air Force) ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Air Force officials have toured the grounds of Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque to evaluate the site as a possible location for the U.S. Space Command. Strategic basing officials during the Thursday tour focused primarily on infrastructure at the base to house the Space Command, the latest of 11 unified commands under the U.S. Department of Defense, the Albuquerque Journal reported. Kirtland is one of six locations being considered. The others include Patrick Air Force Base in Florida, Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, Redstone Army Airfield in Alabama, Port San Antonio in Texas and its current temporary headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado.