Family and friends gathered May 22, 2010 to celebrate the life of Ernie Villas who was taken from us at the young age of thirty seven after a long battle with complications of lupus.

At Balloon Fiesta field fellow balloonists, pilots, crew, family and friends gathered for an extended tailgate to remember the good times. Stories were told and tears were shed but mostly everyone wanted to remember.

The Wings Team was there, Ernie's first pilot and balloon.  The team wore their colorful teal shirts with the Wings balloon logo and their various names and titles. The last balloon that Ernie and Emily crewed for was Drifting Colors with Marv McKinley from Colorado.  It was also the last balloon that Ernie and Mae Bell flew in together.

John Pata, pilot of Colores del Sol, was the driving force to make sure that everyone was invited and welcome. Mike Shrum was able to bring the big BBQ trailer and help with the cooking for the tailgate. Pilot's arrived early to fly in and provide eye candy in memory of someone that loved ballooning.

The Ernie Villas Memorial Balloon Rally was a huge success. Thank you to all who helped and came out. We had some flying, had some crying, had some tears, had some beers, had some sun, and had some fun. Damn good way to celebrate our friend Ernie. See you all next year. Save the date May 21st 2011.

A huge thank you to Eric Owens for the song, Mike Shrum for bringing the grill, Bob Mass for being the grill master, Mae Bell for being the Balloonmeister, Marv for doing the weather and Corrales Fire Department for providing the tables.

A special thanks goes to Representative Don Tripp for donating propane and other costs related to bringing the grill from Socorro.

John Pata's poem was set to music and was a perfect touch at this celebration. (click here for a downloadable copy)  

Emily and family would like to thank everyone for you kind words and support.  It has been hard but with "a little help from our friends" they have been able to heal daily.