Amada Montoya

                                                  Amada “Mae” Montoya

                  As remembered by her family and stories Mae shared with them.

• Amada “Mae” Montoya was born on June 13, 1937 to Frances and Herman Baca and was raised by her aunt and uncle Elvira and Samuel Montoya. She passed away on December 25, 2022 following a 5-year battle with leukemia.

• Mae was born on the feast day of San Antonio. She weighed 3 ½ pounds and her first bed was a shoe box, because she was so tiny.  Her uncle told her parents to get her baptized ASAP because she was not going to live long – boy did she prove him wrong!  She always tried to attend vespers and feast day masses at the little San Antonio chapel in Cieneguilla, and she and Arthur were Mayordomos there one year, as well.

• She remembered her dad, Herman, hooking up a ladder to the bumper of his truck to give all of the kids a sled ride in the snow. In the summer, her dad would load up all of the kids on the back of his flatbed truck and drive the family to Tererro in Pecos for family picnics.

• When she was a toddler, Uncle Sam would stop by her parent’s house to visit on his way home from work. Mae would cry to come home with him so Sam would wrap her in a blanket and put her in the basket of his bicycle and bring her with him – this went on for some time. Sam and Elvira were never blessed with children of their own, so they asked Mae’s parents if she could live with them and they would raise her as their child.  Mae’s mom, Frances, said she would let her live with them as long as she was happy there.  That was the beginning of her adventures.

• They lived at El Rey Court, where Elvira was employed, while Sam built their house across the street from San Isidro Church. She would go with Sam during the day and he would by her an ice cream cone every day at a creamery on what is now the corner of Cerrillos Road and St. Michael’s drive.  By the time they reached Don Jose’s store in the Village (just west of San Ysidro Crossing), she had finished the ice cream cone and Sam had to stop at the store to buy her candy.  Sam built Mae a swing in one of the rooms of the house he was building, to keep her busy so he could work.

• When Sam worked in Socorro, Mae and Elvira would take the bus to go visit him. When it was time to come home, they couldn’t get Mae on the bus – she would kick and scream and put her feet on both sides of the bus doorway because she didn’t want to leave Uncle Sam.

• Mae and Elvira took the train to go live in California with Sam, who was working in the ship yards. There were a lot of soldiers on the train and they took turns holding her in their arms while she slept.  She started first grade there, and on her way home thru the apartment complex where they lived, every day, there was a group of kids that would wait for her and try to beat her up to steal her pink snowball little cakes that she had in her lunch bag.  Mae would come home with her clothes full of dirt and her hair all messed up; knowing our mom, I don’t think they were able to take the cakes from her much of the time. 

• When they returned a year later, Mae started at Agua Fria Elementary County School 55. She was kept back a grade because she had started school in California – not here. She made many friends who remained as neighbors in the Village throughout her life.  She often mentioned being good friends with Mary Lou Gallegos, who lived across the street from her, and Crissie Montoya (Mier) who lived next door.  She and Crissie had many adventures in their teenage years and remained great friends throughout their life.

• Mae fondly remembered the kids in the Village spending all of their spare time at the Parish rectory with the nuns. They had programs all the time to keep the children busy and in touch with their faith.  They prayed, sang, had picnics by the river and performed in plays for various religious holidays. 

• She said she and Elvira would walk to the Cathedral, and were often offered a ride by Agustine Torres in is horse drawn wagon. They would also walk from home to visit all of the churches in Santa Fe on Good Friday.

• When she went to Loretto, she said Uncle Sam would take her in his Model A that went, “clickety clack, clickety clack”. She would have him drop her off before reaching the school because it made too much noise and she was embarrassed.

• Mae married Arthur in 1960; married for 60 years, she was a loving, devoted wife. A family friend once joked that SHE wanted a wife, after seeing how Mae waited on Arthur and the rest of the family during a family dinner; she was a beautiful person, inside and out.

• Mae told stories about the San Isidro Feast Day vespers and celebrations, hearing the Gypsies play the tambourine and sing and dance all night when they would come into town and camp out by the river, going dancing at El Corral, attending dances at La Sala in Agua Fria, making her own Fiesta dresses to be ready for the celebration. She particularly like to show us pictures of her, Arthur, and some friends, swimming at El Cañon in La Cienega, because Arthur was so skinny in his swim trunks.  She would say, “He thought he was really hot stuff!”

• When we were growing up, there was nothing more entertaining than seeing Mae and all of her sisters get together and tell stories and laugh endlessly. Mae was especially close to her sister, Doris, who was her partner in crime later in life; going to lunch, shopping, casino hopping, etc. 

• If you worked with Mae, you know she had the most amazing work ethic – rarely missing work, and everything she did was neat and tidy. SHE DID NOT LIKE MESSY PAPERS!  She had to have the earrings and color of lipstick to match her outfit; AND, the brighter the color the better!

• Mae was the ultimate sidekick for any project that came along and was very artistic and full of ideas; decorating and serving for parties, sewing costumes, peeling chile, proofreading or translating documents, working on projects for school, and especially being involved in projects that helped her Village of Agua Fria. She and Art sponsored Las Posadas in their home several times, and always looked forward to having family and neighbors get together.

• Mae was a mom to all “kids” that came into her home, and welcomed everyone as family. She enjoyed family get togethers the most, and loved being around the grandkids and great grandkids.  She always found things to keep them entertained.  One day she babysat River while Lois ran an errand – River was five years old.  Lois walked back into the house and could hear River and Mae laughing hysterically!  She saw River pushing Mae all around the house in a chair that had wheels, without a care in the world!

• Mae was an amazing care giver who truly believed that family was everything. She worked very hard caring for Sam and Elvira, and helping care for Herman, in their elder years, while still going to work during the day.  That has been instilled in her family who never hesitated stepping in to take her to appointments and treatments, helping her around the house, and especially in the constant, loving caregiving that her son, Dale, did for her day and night.  I know she would want all of us to continue practicing our faith and believing that there isn’t anything we can’t handle with God by our side – this is what she believed.

Thank you all for joining us in celebrating Mae’s life and eternal peace.