Obituary: Miles Baron
It is with great sadness that the family of Miles Baron announces his passing on March 13 at the age of 59 after an eight-year battle with metastatic prostate cancer.
It is with great sadness that the family of Miles Baron announces his passing on March 13 at the age of 59 after a hard fought eight-year battle with metastatic prostate cancer.
Miles will be forever remembered by his wife of nearly 14 years Erica, his beloved son Rigel, and his brother Seth, executive director of the Friends of the IDF Southeast Region. Miles is preceded in death by his parents Leonard and Rita Baron.
Miles was born in Española, N.M., but grew up in many different places around the country. He graduated from Boca Raton High School in Florida, where he was a standout swimmer, cross-country runner and student.
Miles went on to earn a bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in physics from Auburn University in Alabama. He came to the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory to complete his doctoral research and remained there for the rest of his career as a nuclear weapons designer and intelligence analyst.
Highlights of his exemplary career include being appointed Joint Test Assemblies Flight Test Coordinator in 1999, earning both individual and small team distinguished performance awards in 2007, leading a Reliable Replacement Warhead Program design team, acting as the special adviser to the deputy director of the laboratory, and serving on the Science Council for the assistant secretary for defense programs. Miles also worked as the chair of the LANL’s Native American Working Group in the late 1990s.
In 2011, Miles was awarded the prestigious National Intelligence Medallion by James R. Clapper, director of National Intelligence, for his exceptional analytical contributions to the intelligence community.
Miles strove for excellence in his work, athletics, and hobbies placing his love for family above all else. He was a national class athlete, narrowly missing the qualifying mark for the Olympic marathon trials. Throughout his running career, Miles won and placed in many marathons throughout the country. He also raced with Nike and American Olympic biathlon teams. During his free time, Miles was an avid radio-controlled helicopter and plane enthusiast. Later, his interests expanded to building 3-D printers, programming and electronics.
A memorial to celebrate Miles’ life was held at Fuller Lodge in Los Alamos, N.M., March 21. An informal reception followed a short tribute.
Miles strongly believed in investing in our youth and our local communities. In lieu of flowers, Miles would have appreciated donations in his name to the Los Alamos Public Schools Foundation or your favorite organization that benefits the youth of northern New Mexico.
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