Kim Thompson Rawlinson

Dr. Kim T. Rawlinson, 85, passed away on May 30 in Rio Rancho. He was a brilliant mathematician, teacher, devoted father and music lover.

Kim was born in Mt. Vernon, Illinois on September 24, 1936 to Howard and Mary Margaret (Thompson) Rawlinson. He graduated from DePauw University in Indiana in 1958 with a B.S. in zoology. He moved to Albuquerque in 1959 and taught math at Jackson Middle School, Albuquerque Academy and Bernalillo High School.

Kim earned his master’s and doctorate degrees in mathematics from the University of New Mexico, and went on to teach math and computer science at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. In 1978, he embarked on a highly successful, 23-year career with Sperry Univac/Lockheed Martin in Eagan, Minnesota, working on ground-breaking computer programming projects for the aerospace industry. He retired in 2001.

In addition to skiing and roller dancing, Kim was an accomplished amateur radio operator, earning an “extra class” license – the top certification for ham radio operators. His call sign was WNØV. 

Despite being legally blind from an early age and living with declining eyesight from macular degeneration throughout his life, Kim learned to read and play piano music in his later years. To accomplish this, he called upon his experience reading music in his high school band and sheer determination. To learn a piece, Kim would use a CCTV reading machine to greatly magnify the music and memorize a few lines at a time. Kim quickly learned to play complicated compositions, including pieces by Beethoven and Schumann. His Steinway B grand piano signed by Henry Steinway was one of his prized possessions.

Kim also enjoyed listening to Minnesota women’s sports on the radio, as well as the Indy 500 auto race. He was thrilled when he was given permission to sit in Al Unser Sr.’s personal Ford Shelby Cobra during a visit to the Al Unser Racing Museum in Albuquerque.

Kim is survived by his daughter Sharaine Roberts and son-in-law Randall K. Roberts of Rio Rancho, New Mexico; and son Scott Rawlinson and daughter-in-law Dr. Lisa Theisen of Los Ranchos, New Mexico.

A memorial service will be held on June 10, 2022 at 10 a.m. at Sara Chapel, 4310 Sara Rd. S.E. Rio Rancho, New Mexico. The service will be live streamed the link attached below.

in lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in Kim's name. Go to https://www.thespco.org/contribute/contribute-now/