James L. Salazar

James L. Salazar (Jim) Jim passed away January 25, 2023 surrounded by his loving family and close friends. Jim was born in Los Alamos, NM on July 12, 1959 to Phillip R. Salazar and Mabel Duran Salazar. Jim’s family moved to Santa Fe two years later, where Jim spent the rest of his life.

Jim was married to Dodi for 46 years. They met in high school and created a beautiful life and family together. The two names – Jim and Dodi – were synonymous with each other to anyone who knew them. They were inseparable.

Jim’s biggest joys in life were his family and of course his music. Family was the most important thing to him. Spending time with his grandchildren was how he spent much of his time. “Papo”, as he was lovingly called by his grandchildren, had an enormous influence on their lives. Papo was always there and there was absolutely nothing he wouldn’t do for them or for his children. There are so many happy memories of family vacations, camping trips and just hanging out with his grandchildren sitting on the arm of his recliner. Things as trivial as running errands with Papo were always an adventure and something they always benefited from!

Jim’s other big love was music, especially Classic Rock. From Journey to Styx to the Rolling Stones, if you could name them, Jim probably saw them in concert. He also loved watching trivia game shows (which he was exceptionally good at) and there was seldom a day that went by that he didn’t watch “The Price is Right” and “Family Feud”.  He loved watching crime shows, court and reality tv and the cooking channel with Dodi.  He had an amazing sense of humor and there was nothing more pleasing than to hear his boisterous laugh over something he read or saw on tv. You couldn’t help but laugh with him. He enjoyed game night with family and friends where time was spent eating, drinking and laughing. In his healthier days Jim loved working out at the Chavez Center where he met and made so many friends. Dodi would joke that most of the time he spent at the gym was not working out but visiting with his buddies!

Jim spent his career working for the City of Santa Fe where he retired from in 2011. While working for the city he held several positions in the Planning and Land Use Department. He started working for the city as an inspector, then moved up to supervising the Permit and Development Review division, managing the Escarpment Overlay District (his greatest accomplishment) and ultimately working his way up to the acting director of Planning and Land Use for 2 years.  He loved Santa Fe and took pride in knowing that he worked hard to make it better.

 Jim was preceded in death by his mom and dad, Phillip and Mabel, as well as his brother Miguel. Jim is survived by his loving wife, Dodi; his brother, Rick (Karen); his children Vincent, Lisa and Daniel (Amanda); and his loving grandchildren, Antonio, Megan, Johnathan and Niko. There are just no words to describe how much he was loved and will be missed by his family and friends.

A rosary will be recited on Sunday February 5th at 5:30 pm at Berardenelli’s Family Funeral Home. The funeral Mass will be celebrated on Monday, February 6th at 10:00 am at Santa Maria de la Paz Catholic Church.