The Supreme Sacrifice: Guadalupe County Soldiers

Daniel B. Flores was born in Puerto de Luna, New Mexico in 1946, in the home of his paternal grandfather, Cipriano Flores. That is the same house where Billy the Kid ate his last Christmas dinner in 1880. In 1880 the house belonged to his maternal great-grandfather, Alexander Grzelachowski. Grzelachowski built the house in 1870. Grzelachowski’s estate served as a combination residence and mercantile store. A large warehouse was also connected to the rear of the store, complete with a cellar. He is the oldest of thirteen children. The Flores family lived in Puerto de Luna until they moved to Santa Rosa in October 1959. While living in Puerto de Luna, the Flores family Flores attended public schools in Puerto de Luna and Santa Rosa. After graduating from Santa Rosa High School in 1964, he enrolled at the University of New Mexico. He received a BA degree from the University of New Mexico in 1969 and an MA degree in Educational Administration from New Mexico Highlands University in 1984. He returned to Santa Rosa after graduating from UNM in 1969 and was employed by the Santa Rosa Consolidated Schools for over forty years. After working as a teacher for fifteen years, he spent the last twenty-five years of his educational career as an administrator. He served as middle school principal for two years and then was high school principal for seven years. He retired from the school system in July 2009 after working his last sixteen years as the school district’s superintendent. He was inducted into the New Mexico Activities Association Hall of Fame in 2002. He was named the New Mexico School Superintendent of the Year in 2007 by the New Mexico School Superintendent’s Association. He married his wife, the former Lupita Campos, in 1966. He credits her for helping him complete his college education. They are the parents of Daniel, Jr., Steve and Stephanie. Daniel and Lupita are also the proud grandparents of Marcus and Hannah, the children of Steve and his wife, Tina. The Flores family also welcomed a new grandchild in November 2013, Henry Augustus Flores Boyd, the son of their daughter, Stephanie, and Alex Boyd. The grandchildren bring great joy to him and his wife.