Anne Marie Irete

Anne Marie Irete, age 87, of Corrales, New Mexico, passed away peacefully after a long illness on Thursday, January 16, 2025, at the Beehive of Taylor Ranch in Albuquerque New Mexico.

Anne was preceded in death by her grandson, Cody "Joe" Eifert and her brother-in-law, Robert "Bobby" Curtis.

Anne is survived by her husband of 46 years, Ross Blankinship; her sister, Judith "Judy" Irete of Southbury, CT; her daughter, Tanya Michetti Maloy of Houston TX; son, Joseph A. Michetti, Jr. of Niceville FL; grandchildren, Kristina Compton (Jason) of Lexington KY, twins Leila and Brandon Enfinger of Pensacola FL, as well as six great-grandchildren and many cousins.

Anne was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania on March 14, 1937, to the late Joseph L. and Florence (Manley) Irete.

Anne had a love of horses from an early age, which was passed on by her mother's love of horses. As a young girl Anne entered many horse shows in Chester County on her beloved Welsh Pony, Black Diamond. She enjoyed the independence of riding off when she was mad!

Anne's family moved from Pennsylvania in 1946 in their Ford Woody station wagon, pulling a house trailer, destined for Tampa, Florida. They bought 10 acres of rural property with live oaks and moss, long needle pines, palmettos, and a creek, 15 miles north of Tampa.

Anne's parents built a log house with a long porch. These were very adventurous times. Water Moccasins in the creek, checking for scorpions in their boots, learning how to use a snake bite kit. Anne and her sister rode bareback to school on Silver, Anne's mustang. Anne and her mother and sister would go moonlight riding with neighbors, following the trails of white sand.

Anne participated in rodeos in the Tampa area, competing in barrel racing and a contest holding an egg in a spoon while cantering around the ring. In 1951 she was the first girl to ride one of the wild ponies brought from Assateague Island to Chincoteague Island (while such adventures were permitted). She rode bareback hanging onto the horse's mane.

In her teens Anne routinely helped in her father's drug store, where her father, also known as Doc, was a pharmacist.

Anne had a love of cars, especially the old cars. Later in life she would attend car shows, drive in rallies, and reminisce about the cars she had grown up with. She always had a bit of a heavy foot on the accelerator, whether behind the wheel of new or old models.

Anne married Joseph A. Michetti, Sr., who joined the Air Force July 7, 1952. Together they moved to various Air Force bases in the United States, as well as oversea tours in Turkey and Guam. In 1955 they had a son, Joseph "Joey", and in 1961 a daughter, Tanya. After their marriage ended in divorce, Anne eventually settled in Alamogordo, New Mexico.

It was in Alamogordo where Anne met Ross Blankinship, a newly minted Air Force officer stationed at Holloman AFB. While living in Alamogordo Anne attended New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. In 1978 she graduated with a BA in Journalism. While at NMSU she wrote many articles for the Roundup, the NMSU student paper. She subsequently worked as a para-legal assistant in the Alamogordo city attorney's office and was active in women's rights organizations.

Anne enthusiastically took up many of the recreational activities that Ross enjoyed, including hiking, backpacking, and downhill skiing. Together they enjoyed many road trips and camping adventures throughout the four corner states. Ross and Anne married in March of 1979, at the courthouse in Telluride, Colorado. Their honeymoon was skiing at Telluride.

Upon separation from the Air Force in June of 1979, Ross's employment took them to Fairfax, Virginia and King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, before settling in Corrales, New Mexico in 1983. In Virginia Anne worked for the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and in Pennsylvania with the General Electric Corporation as a technical editor. While "back East" with her husband they enjoyed the DC culture, many road trips to outdoor concerts and crafts fairs, as well as trips to New England to visit her sister Judy and to enjoy the great fall foliage.

Back in New Mexico living in their Corrales adobe home, Anne worked at RIDEPOOL, a UNM based program providing transportation information to commuters of the middle Rio Grande area. After a few years, she "retired" from RIDEPOOL to work as an artist making and selling ceramic Mimbres style jewelry at craft shows. Together with her husband Ross they enjoyed the many road trips throughout the state this afforded. Anne then returned to her life-long love of horses, acquiring her half-Arabian mare, Karat. She passionately trained Karat and herself for competitive endurance riding. Ross and Anne enjoyed traveling throughout New Mexico with Karat to camp at the ride sites where Anne competed in the 25-mile events, sometimes winning first in her age class. They enjoyed memorable vacations to Hawaii and Copper Canon in Mexico as well. In her spare time Anne volunteered for the Corrales recycling program and enjoyed hiking in the Sandia Mountain foothills.

In 1997 Ross's employment took them to Evergreen, Colorado for two years, where they explored the many outdoor attractions of the region, as well as the arts and culture in the Denver area.

They returned to New Mexico in 1999, settling in Placitas, where Anne rode her newly acquired and beloved full-blooded Arabian mare, Lily. They all then returned to Corrales for one last time in 2015.

Anne was playful, fun-loving, fiercely independent, and loving of her many horses and cats over her many years, though she could be a bit over-critical of those who did not see things her way. One of her two favorite holidays was Halloween, where she would love to decorate, dress up, and sometimes play spooky music outside for the visiting trick-or-treaters. Her other favorite holiday was Christmas, with lavish decorations and ornaments, watching the cats play around the tree, tearing into the wrapped catnip treats.

Per Anne's wishes she has been cremated. Her family will celebrate her life in a private ceremony. Please consider donations to your favorite animal shelter or rescue facility in Anne's name.