Grace Valdez

Grace G. Valdez was born February 27, 1927 and went home to heaven January 6, 2021.

Grace was born and preceded in death by her parents Frank and Anita Garcia.  She was also proceeded in death by her husband Leo Valdez, her son Ralph Valdez, her granddaughter Alicia Valdez and her brothers; Orlando, Isaac and Tito Garcia. 

She is survived by her daughter Vivian (Tom) Riechert, son Leo (Theresa) Valdez and daughter Valerie (Higinio)Martinez.   Grandchildren include:  Sharman(Jason) and Jason Riechert;  Ivan (Kay), Jeremy(Kelly) and Tomas Valdez; Nina and Pedro(Charmaine) Valdez; Liz (George) Galvan and Higinio (Olivia)Martinez.  Great grandchildren:  Alysse(Miguel) Salas, Vince and Griffin Valdez, DeeJay, Eliseo and Amalia Valdez and Lucas Galvan.  She is also survived by her sisters; Viriginia (Mario) Hernandez, Lucy (Jerry) Smith and Sisters-in-Law Chon LaBrier and Tiofila Valdez, Uncles Fidel and Mark Gutierrez, numerous beloved nephews and nieces and friends.

Grace was born in Ojo Caliente and had many beautiful memories of her childhood there.  Their family later moved to Tierra Amarilla where she met the love of her life, Leo.  She attended grade school in Tierra Amarilla, High School at McCurdy and college at Highlands University in Las Vegas NM.  She became a teacher and then married Leo.  They began their lives in San Francisco, CA where Leo was stationed at the time.  They had Vivian and Leo Jr in California and then moved back to NM to have two more children, Ralph & Valerie.

Grace worked for the Federal Government for 35 years at Farmers Home Administration.  In that time she helped numerous families get loans to finance their homes, farms and ranches.  After she retired from the government she decided that she wasn’t ready to “stay home” so, she went to work for the City of Espanola for another 5 years.  She also worked at Hacienda De Salud as a night auditor while her mother was in residence there. 

She was married to Leo for 53 years and after he passed away she moved to Farmington, NM and established a new life there to her last.  In Farmington she became very involved with the Bonnie Dallas Senior Center and taught arts and crafts there for several years.  She also became very involved with Saint Mary’s Alter Society and loved her time serving, praying and socializing with her new friends.

Grace was very passionate about many things and always took pride in doing things meticulously. She loved feeding people; she loved children and never met a stranger.  She was “Lady Bug” to her grandchildren; always buzzing around in their business!  She was a hard worker and never had an idle moment.  She is now resting with her Savior and will be greatly missed by all.

 “Every blade in the field – every leaf in the forest – lays down its life in its season as beautifully as it was taken up.”  Henry David Thoreau

Grace will be greatly missed by her family. Please keep the family of Mrs. Valdez in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. Also we encourage family and friends to share their condolences and memories by visiting riverafamilyfuneralhome.com

Public vistitation will be held at Rivera Family Funeral Home in Espanola, New Mexico on Monday, January 11, 2021 from 1:00pm-4:00pm. Due to covid restrictions there will only be small groups allowed at a time. 

A holy rosary will be prayed for Grace on Tuesday, January 12, 2021 at the Holy Cross Santa Cruz catholic church at 11:30am followed by the mass.

Interment will be on Tuesday, January 12, 2021 ath the Santa Fe National Cemetery.