Margarita Valdez-Stehle

Margarita Valdez-Stehle, age 63, Santa Fe

Our beloved “Maggie” passed away after a year-long battle with leukemia on February 15th at Christus St. Vincent Hospital in Santa Fe, surrounded by her family.

Maggie was born in Santa Fe to Eloy and Miranda (Garcia) Valdez on Thanksgiving Day 1958. She attended St. Anne Catholic School and Santa Fe High where her lifelong passion for plants and gardening began. She went on to graduate from the University of Arizona with a B.S. in Agriculture with a Horticulture Emphasis.

After graduation, she embarked on a two-year adventure as a Peace Corps volunteer, working side by side with local farmers on the Caribbean islands of Barbados and St. Vincent. It was there she met her future husband, Tom Stehle. The two eventually settled in Santa Fe where they enjoyed life with family, friends, a few canine companions, and Maggie’s amazing garden.

She had a varied career that reflected her interests in life, working several years for the Newman family at Evergreen Nursery in Santa Fe. She also had a lengthy career working for the Santa Fe Public Library and even worked a brief stint as the first female greenskeeper at the Marty Sanchez Links de Santa Fe Golf Course.

Maggie loved to travel, whether it be exciting tours abroad, or relaxing autumns at the cabin by the lake in Wisconsin.  We will remember our dear Maggie for her ability to make anything grow, her enormous CD collection, and of course, her love of sports (die-hard fan of the Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Wildcats).

Her friends at San Isidro Catholic Church will remember her forher volunteer work with the youth group and as a Eucharistic Minister at church and for the home bound. But most of all, we will remember her love and dedication to family, friends, and Church. We will be inspired by her resilient spirit and her desire to never give up, no matter the circumstance.

Maggie is survived by her husband, of 28 years, Tom Stehle, of Santa Fe, siblings: Diana Valdez, Martin Valdez, MichelleValdez, and John (Kristi) Valdez, sister-in-law Joan (Larry)Werner of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, nieces and nephews David Valdez, Lyssa (Carlos) Watson, Andrew (JoAna) Werner, Joe (Katy) Werner, Lucia (Gary) Pierce, Alec Valdez, aunts Cidelia Martinez, Helen Garcia, Cecilia Roybal, cousin Paul Martinez, childhood friends, Brenda Alvarez, Ann Richardson, and many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

We wish to express our deep gratitude to Maggie’s dear friend,Angela Martinez, for the love and support she provided Maggieduring her illness.

Maggie is preceded in death by her parents, Eloy and Miranda Valdez of Santa Fe, in-laws Walter and Mary Lou Stehle, and brother-in-law Pete Stehle, all of Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

A rosary will be recited at 10:30 a.m. followed by a funeral mass at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, March 11th at San Isidro Catholic Church 3552 Agua Fria Street, Santa Fe, NM 87507. Interment will follow at 1 p.m. at Rosario Cemetery. A celebration of life will be scheduled at a later date.