Elmer W. "Skinny" Schooley died April 25, 2007 following a brief illness at the age of 91. He was born in Lawrence, Kansas, in Feb. 1916, the third of four sons of Sparks S. and Nella Winey Schooley. His family lived in Oklahoma during his childhood, moving to Colorado during the great depression. After high school Skinny enrolled in the University of Colorado where he majored in art and worked his way through college as a truck driver. In Boulder he fell in love with a fellow art major, Gertrude "Gussie" Rogers, and spent one summer as a ranch hand working on her family's ranch near Westcliffe, CO. They married in Sept.1941, just prior to departing for the University of Iowa where they both earned a Masters of Fine Arts degree. Skinny enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1942, went to Officer Candidate School, and spent several years in the South Pacific theater and later Japan. After the war they moved to Silver City, NM, in Jan. 1946, where Skinny taught art at New Mexico Western College. In 1947 Skinny joined the Art Department of New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas, NM. He convinced the University to get its first lithography press, a medium he practiced for many years in addition to wood blocks and etching. However, he settled on oil painting as his favored medium and rarely did any print making in his later years. He taught classes in all the above media, in addition to art history. He was head of the Art Department for many years before retiring early in 1978 to devote himself full time to painting. Both Gussie and Skinny were predominantly landscape painters, for which they were well known.
Skinny was an energetic man of many interests. He loved classical music and played the cello, performing in the Highlands Orchestra and enjoying duets with friends. He was also active in the Sierra Club and the Audubon Society. He was an ardent bird watcher, and always an eager participant in the Audubon Christmas bird count. He skied briefly in college, but took it up again in his 50's with a passion, serving on the Ski Patrol at Sipapu, a ski area near Tres Ritos.
For over 30 years Gussie and Skinny made their home in the lovely Gallinas canyon near Montezuma, northwest of Las Vegas, where they raised three sons, David, John, and Ted. Gussie wanted to retire someplace with winters warmer than at 6700 feet. Just prior to Skinny's retirement, Gussie applied for, and received, grants for them in the Roswell Artist-in-Residence program. Skinny was reluctant to leave his beloved home and studio nestled in the pines at Montezuma. However, after the one year program, they bought a house on Berrendo Road near the Roswell artists' compound to continue enjoying the active arts community they had entered. Their careers blossomed in retirement, devoting most of their time to painting. For many years he painted very large landscapes, 7 x 8 feet. He exhibited extensively, and his paintings are represented by the Meyer-Munson Gallery in Santa Fe. Skinny's work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Brooklyn Museum, the Library of Congress, the Roswell Museum and Art Center, the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art, Roswell, Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe, the Albuquerque Museum, the Dallas Museum of Art, among others, and numerous private collections.
The family invites friends to a Celebration of Skinny's life to be held at the Roswell Museum and Art Center, Roswell, at 2 pm on Saturday, May 12. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to the San Isabel Foundation, a land protection trust in Westcliffe, CO, phone 719-783-3018.
Elmer is survived by two sons, David of Reno, NV and Ted Schooley of Roswell, two daughter-in-laws, Eleanor Schooley, Reno, NV and Karen Remmele, Roswell, four grandchildren, Christine Schooley-Stokes and Anna Schooley of Oakland, CA, Stephen Schooley of San Jose, CA, and Sean Schooley of Roswell. Great-grandchildren include Ryan and Peter Stokes of Oakland, CA, and Cameron, Lacie, and Mitchell Schooley of Roswell.