MESSIYAH TYRELL CASTELLANO WRIGHTEN, 3 weeks old, of Las Vegas, N.M. died Jan. 31.
He is survived by his parents, Katrina Castellano and Christopher Wrighten of Las Vegas, N.M.; and many other relatives.
A Mass will be celebrated at 9 a.m. today at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church with burial to follow at the Santa Rita Cemetery in Bernal.
Nelson Funeral Home, Las Vegas, N.M., 425-6551.
Dated: February 3, 2005
HENRY B. CHAVEZ, 87, of Santa Fe died Wednesday. He was born to the late Luis Chavez and Adelicia Baros. He was a proud World War II veteran, serving in the 804 Tank Destroyer Battalion; a retiree from the state's Vital Records Section; a lifetime member of the VFW, a member of La Union Protectiva, and an active member of the Mary Esther Gonzales Senior Citizens Center where he spent much of his time visiting with friends. He was a loving father who set high standards and instilled moral values and a common sense approach to everyday life. He is survived by his wife, Mildred Chavez; sons, Eugene and wife Benita Chavez of Santa Fe, Gilbert and wife Eileen Chavez of Santa Fe, Michael Chavez and life partner David Duran of Las Vegas, Nev., Jim Ornales and wife Nora of Alamosa, Colo.; daughter, Evangeline (Vangie) Chavez and life partner Traci Garcia of Albuquerque; five grandchildren; and many other relatives. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to PMS Home Care and Hospice Center, 1400 Chama Ave, Santa Fe, N.M. 87505-3372. A rosary will be recited at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Santa Maria de La Paz Catholic Church. Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Monday at the same church with burial to follow at Santa Fe National Cemetery. Berardinelli Family Funeral Service, 983-4331.
Dated: February 4, 2005
LAURA BEATRICE THORNE SOLOMON, 78, of Santa Fe died Wednesday. She was born in Las Cruces. During World War II, she was a railroad telegrapher in California. When the war ended, she attended the University of Arizona and upon graduation took training to be a certified medical technician. She was employed by the hospital in Las Vegas, N.M., where she met and married her husband Charles S. Solomon, who was attending Highlands University, in 1950. She completed education courses at Highlands and both of them taught at Northern New Mexico Normal School in El Rito from 1952 to 1953. They moved to Alaska where she worked as a medical technician for the Army Air Force in Anchorage. The couple moved to Washington, D.C. where she worked at George Washington University Hospital. She and her husband moved to Santa Fe in 1956, where they raised their two girls, Carol and Susan. She helped with Girl Scouts and Campfire Girls, served as a docent at the Palace of the Governors and provided medical technician services for various clinics. Most recently, she worked as a mentor at Sweeney Elementary School and worked as a legal secretary for her husband until his retirement. She loved travel and people, arts and crafts, music, children, gardening and liberal causes. She is survived by relatives in New Mexico, Texas, California, Idaho and Great Britain. A memorial has not yet been scheduled. Berardinelli Family Funeral Service, 983-4331.
Dated: February 4, 2005
WILLIAM STEWART, 86, of Los Alamos died Wednesday. He was preceded in death by his wife, Lottie J. Stewart. He is survived by his sons, William J. Stewart and wife Celeste of Idaho Falls and Robert E. Stewart and wife Diane of Los Alamos; brother, Jack Stewart of Gibson, Tenn.; one granddaughter; and many other relatives. A public visitation will be held at 7 p.m. today in the chapel of Block Salazar Mortuary in Española. A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at the same chapel with burial to follow at Guaje Pines Cemetery in Los Alamos. Block Salazar Mortuary, 753-2288.
Dated: February 4, 2005
JOHN W. VIGIL, 58, of Santa Clara Pueblo died unexpectedly Wednesday. He was a well-known pottery maker. He loved hunting, fishing and sports. He was a hard worker and loved to spend time with his family and friends, especially his grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his son, Michael Vigil; companion, Frances Salazar; brother, Dennis Vigil; and mother, Georgia S. Vigil. He is survived by his daughter, Georgette Vigil; one granddaughter; brother, Manuel G. Vigil and wife Barbara; sisters, Betty Espinoza and husband Robert and Pauline Naranjo and husband Carlos; and many other relatives and friends. A visitation will be held at 3 p.m. until the rosary at 7 p.m. today at the family home. Mass will be celebrated at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Santa Clara Pueblo Catholic Church with burial to follow at Santa Clara Catholic Cemetery. DeVargas Funeral Home of the Española Valley, 747-7477.
Dated: February 4, 2005
IGNACITA O. MARTINEZ, 90, a pioneer resident of Manuelitas, died Thursday at Vida Encantada Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.
She was born in Manuelitas on Oct. 30, 1914. She worked for the Jayval Parachute Factory as an inspector and was a nursing assistant at the Las Vegas Medical Center for 13 years.
She was a volunteer for the Foster Grandparents Program at the West Las Vegas Head Start for 14 years.
Her hobbies included baking, sewing, embroidery, playing bingo and fabric painting.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Francisco and Juanita Padilla Olivas; her husband, Estanislado Martinez; a daughter, June Padilla; a brother, Margarito Olivas; a granddaughter; and a great-grandson.
She is survived by nine children, Connie Wildenstein of Las Vegas, N.M., Ernesto Arcenio Martinez and wife, Loretta, of Manuelitas, Jane Bickham of Albuquerque, Beatrice Martinez and special friend Rory Pino of Manuelitas, Rose Marie Padilla and husband, Robert James, of Albuquerque, Michael L. Martinez of Manuelitas, Henrietta Martinez and husband, Larry, of Las Vegas, N.M., Marcella Martinez of Las Vegas, N.M., and Manuel Martinez and wife, Sharon, of Manuelitas; sister, Leonore Gurule and husband, Frank, of Las Vegas, N.M., brother George Olivas and wife, Dulcinea, of Commerce City, Colo., special niece Sandra Barela of Las Vegas, N.M.; 29 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; and numerous other relatives and godchildren.
Visitation will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today in St. Francis Chapel at Gonzales Funerals & Cremations, 2315 Hot Springs Blvd. in Las Vegas, N.M.
A rosary will be recited at 7 tonight at Our Lady of Sorrows Church.
Mass will be celebrated at 9 a.m. Monday at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Sapello with burial to follow in the church cemetery.
Gonzales Funerals & Cremations, (505) 425-9319.
Dated: February 6, 2005
Ethel Mundy, a longtime Chama rancher, land owner and real estate agent, died Monday. She was 86.
At one time, she and her husband, Bill Mundy, owned more than 27,000 acres of land in Rio Arriba County, where they raised sheep, cattle and quarter horses.
Bill Mundy bought the family's first 11,000 acres in 1949 for $11 dollars an acre, said the couple's son, Jim Mundy, and continued to add to the initial parcel by buying acreage whenever he could.
Some of the acquisitions became a flash point in the dispute between the Tierra Amarilla land-grant heirs and landowners like the Mundys. In 1956, the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Mundy Ranch when the Tierra Amarilla heirs sued.
In 1959, Ethel Mundy became one of the first female real estate agents in the state, selling off parcels of the property her husband had continually and rapidly acquired.
"She was smart and with it and she knew that people would want to move up here," said daughter-in-law Susan Mundy.
The Mundy ranch is now 10,000 acres, Susan Mundy said.
Ethel Mundy worked in real estate for nearly 30 years, retiring in 1988 when sale contracts went from one to two pages. "She decided that was enough," Susan Mundy said.
Ethel Mundy was born in Las Cruces in 1918 to Emitt and Ruth Bundy Issacks, longtime ranchers in the Organ Mountains.
She grew up on the ranch, branding cattle and riding horses. She graduated from New Mexico State University with a teaching certificate and taught grade school in Chama.
She met her husband through her sister, who was dating him first, Jim Mundy said.
"My dad always said he met her up in the Organ Mountains licking salt, and you can quote him on that," Jim Mundy said.
The couple married on Groundhog's Day in 1941. They moved to their new home in Chama in 1952.
As an adult, Ethel Mundy preferred to stay on her own two legs rather than a horse's four and lived the life of a traditional ranch wife.
She raised two sons and when not feeding hungry ranch hands, she slopped the pigs, butchered stock and milked the cows.
"She was a tough, tough, ranch lady," Bill Mundy said.
Her upbringing contributed to her positive attitude in both her real estate ventures and her personal life, he said.
On Feb. 29, 1960, the Mundy's house was burned down. The suspects were various land grant activists, although no one was ever charged with the arson. Theirs was one of seven homes burnt that winter, Jim Mundy said.
Despite various attempts to drive her and her husband off the land— including threatening phone calls, horses shot, cattle poisoned and fences destroyed, Ethel Mundy "never backed up," her son said.
"A real estate deal would just blow up and she would say, 'It's probably for the best,' and stay open and look for the silver lining," Susan Mundy said.
A memorial celebration party will be held at 6 p.m. today at the offices of United Country-Northern New Mexico Real Estate and Mundy Ranch Inc., in Chama.
Dated: February 18, 2005
