Valley High School Alumni
Albuquerque, New Mexico (NM)
Clay Pryor
Valley High School
Class of 1977
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CLAY'S PROFILE
| First Name | Clay |
| Last Name | Pryor |
| Graduation Year | Class of 1977 |
| Gender | Male |
| Current Location | Albuquerque |
| Hometown | Albuquerque |
| Relationship Status | Married |
| About Me | I spent most of my youth near the Rio Grande Bosque in the last house on the west end of Candelaria Road. My grandfather, who came to New Mexico with the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos, used to say "They get tougher and tougher as you go down the road and we live in the last house." He was once a Colorado Sheriff and he also told me "Never run from the police because they will shoot you." Recently several of my cousins and I were sharing memories about him. Interestingly, I am the only one he ever said that to. I guess he might have had some doubts about me at the time. The house is gone now and the property is part of the Rio Grande Nature Center. It was a small farm, only 10 acres, but there was plenty of work for a young boy. We could be described as tenant farmers because we did not own the land and were granted a significantly discounted rent for keeping the land in agricultural use. We raised cattle, horses, sheep, pigs, and more. My step father, who at one time was a rodeo cowboy, also owned and boarded quarter horses. About seven of the ten acres was an alfalfa field. I cleaned and tended the irrigation ditches while my step father operated the farming equipment. I also helped with bringing the bales of alfalfa in from the field. It was hard work but it made me very strong for a scrawny little country boy. We were a bit unique in that we we were right on the edge of town and in the same neighborhood as "city" kids who were my friends. I did not mingle much with other "country boys." I attended Griegos Elementary, Garfield Junior High, and of course, Valley High School. Most would consider us poor folk and I studied hard in school hoping to make a better life for myself. This is not the path for everyone but it was the best path for me at the time. The best thing that happened to me in college was meeting Michelle Riboni. She was a "canyon girl" who graduated from Manzano the same year that I graduated from Valley. Of course, back then, the two high schools were mortal enemies but we were willing to overlook that little detail. Her family can be traced back for centuries in New Mexico. I have worked for the Air Force Weapons Labs, IBM, the State of New Mexico, and Sandia National Labs. I programmed computers all those years starting at the lowest level at the Air Force Weapons Labs and progressing to Principal Member of Technical Staff (PMTS) at Sandia where I led small teams developing enterprise web database applications. I retired from Sandia in 2021 after 34 years of "Exceptional Service in the National Interest." I am currently running for...(read more) |
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Class of 1977 Alumni
→ Reunite with 55 class of 1977 alumni that have joined.
Amanda Wolfel Wolfel
Class of 2005
Carl Spindle Carl Spindle
Class of 1963
Adam Sandoval
Class of 2003
Doris Padilla
Class of 1968
Phillip Candelaria
Class of 1983
Chris Garcia
Class of 1982
Emmanuel Emmanuel Chavarria
Class of 2005
Angela Garcia
Class of 2001
Sylvia Gonzales
Class of 1964
Monica Perea
Class of 1994
Carla Chavez
Class of 1970
Erica Montoya
Class of 2005
Melissa Montoya
Class of 1992
Glen Vinke
Class of 1978
Geri L Martinez
Class of 1980
Sharon Mitchell
Class of 1963
Jen Chavez
Class of 1993
Greg Spitz
Class of 1999
Recent Class of 1977 Reunions
Plan a Class of 1977 Reunion for Free
VHS Class of ‘68. 50th Reunion
Invited Classes: All Classes
Date: Sep 08, 2018
Description: Please note the change of date! $50.00 per person covers dinner, dance, and venue rental fees. For more information and ...(read more)
Class of 1967 50th reunion
Invited Classes: All Classes
Date: Jul 21, 2017
Description: Payment due by July 14th. Will provide address if going. Cost is $50 per person for dinner,soft drinks,tea, coffee and d...(read more)
VHS Class of 94 Dinner and Dance
Invited Classes: All Classes
Date: Oct 25, 2014
Description: Come celebrate the class of 1994. It is a great time to reconnect, catch up, and laugh. Thursday, Oct. 23 VHS v AHS a...(read more)
Class of 1964 - 50th Reunion
Invited Classes: All Classes
Date: Sep 19, 2014
Description: Please come to the VHS Reunion Class of 64 Website: http://www.vhsreunion64.com this website is run by our class (64 alu...(read more)
Class of 77 50th Birthday Bash
Invited Classes: 1977
Date: Aug 08, 2009
Description: Please contact me so we can send you info.
Class of 1972 reunion
Invited Classes: 1963, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1977
Description: I was wondering if there was any interest in a multiple year reunion since the class of 1972 missed our 50th year reuni...(read more)