Sheila Pugach

Sheila Pugach died peacefully on December 2nd, 2024, at the age of 83. She is survived by her son, Michael Lawrence Pugach (and wife Gail) living in Anamosa, Iowa; grandchildren, Rachel Corriea (Pugach) and Joshua Pugach of Colorado; daughter, Laura Ellen Bair (Pugach) of Arizona; grandchildren, Zachary Bair of Washington and Alexa Fiehler (Bair) of Arizona; sister, Beverly Druzin of Montreal, and nephews, Perry Shak ( wife Ilana Shak), and grandnephews, Rowen, Noah-Kai, and Jackson; Nephew, Danny Shak and wife, Karen and their children, Sophie and Etan; brother, David Druzin ( wife Betty), niece, Samantha Druzin and husband, all of Montreal, Canada; and many lifelong friends. 

Sheila was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada of parents who were also born in Montreal, Hyman and Bertha (Albert). Her grandparents, Dora Barbarash and Sam Albert, came to Canada as very young children from Lithuania. After graduating high school, Sheila attended McGill University in the honors biochemistry program, and then went on to graduate school at the University of Wisconsin (Madison) and Kent State University, ultimately earning a master’s degree in biology. 

Sports were an important part of Sheila’s life, particularly in high school and college where she swam competitively and was a member of the University of Wisconsin canoeing team. Later in life, Sheila enjoyed skiing and speed walking.

Sheila was very proud of her Canadian heritage and though she knew she would likely spend the rest of her life in the US, she was reluctant to surrender her citizenship. As luck would have it, there was a change to the US federal law in 1971 that allowed Canadians to become dual citizens, so she eagerly earned her US citizenship the following year. 

In 1971 she moved to Albuquerque with her husband of 45 years, Noel Pugach, who had landed a professorship position in the History Department at the University of New Mexico. For several years, Sheila conducted research at the university’s biology department; however, there were limited opportunities in biology/biochemistry in Albuquerque at that time, so Sheila switched career paths entirely to the new field of computer programming. As computing advanced, Sheila worked in numerous positions in both the private and public sectors, eventually retiring in 2010. Sheila had an insatiable thirst for knowledge, attending numerous continuous education courses and countless seminars on a variety of topics. She also became increasingly active in community politics, attending city council meetings and writing letters to legislators regarding issues she felt strongly about.

Sheila was also especially proud of her Jewish heritage, becoming a member of the Chavurah Hamidbar and the Jewish Federation of Albuquerque after moving to Albuquerque. 

Amongst all of Sheila’s interests, her love for animals was her strongest passion—especially for her pet cats. She was a volunteer for Fabulous Felines and an active member of PACA. She was well known in her community for putting food and water out for her neighbors’ cats. She felt many charitable organizations needed to be supported and gave generously to over 25 non-profit associations.

For those who would like to donate in her memory, please give to The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, Save the Chimps, or to The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keansburg Colorado. 

A graveside service will be held for Sheila at Fairview Memorial Park, 700 Yale Blvd SE at 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 4, 2024.