Julie Young Zettel

My loving wife, Julie Young Zettel was born in Roswell, NM on December 9, 1955 to Johnny and Joan Young. Her greatest joys were her family, her pets, gardening, interior design, classical music (and 60's and 70's rock), dance, old movies (and new sci-fi), reading (mysteries and period romances), New Mexico, and all things Disney.

Julie spent her youth in Roswell while her father was stationed at Walker Air Force Base. When the based closed they relocated for a short time to Grand Forks, ND where she continued to develop her dancing skills. Upon her father's retirement from the Air Force. she returned to Roswell with her parents, living in the same home they left. She graduated from Roswell High School in 1973. After graduation she spent a year in Dallas going to Bauder Fashion College. One of her great joys was taking two trips to Europe and seeing all of the great culture it had to offer.

After Bauder she returned to Roswell before moving to Berkeley, California. That was when destiny stepped in. We met as young dancers performing in Musical Theatre at Woodminster Amphitheatre in Oakland, California. Our first musical together was Guys and Dolls and the song "A Bushel and a Peck" from that musical became the theme song of the rest of our lives together.

Julie and I were married on April 25, 1981 in Kensington, California. Julie and I decided to move her back home to New Mexico in 1983 and we never looked back. We both had a tremendous love for all things New Mexico. Julie especially loved looking at the Sandia Mountains east of Albuquerque. During our glorious 40 years of marriage we experienced many joys. We designed and built a home together in those Sandia Mountains where we lived for 20 years. We loved to design (and redesign) the interiors of our homes. Our most recent projects included painting and redesigning the interior and exterior of the Albuquerque home we moved into almost six years ago. Our tastes were so compatible that we made the perfect design pair. Part of the reason we purchased the home we did was the view of the Sandia Mountains we had from our bedroom.

We remained kids until the end, taking numerous joyous vacations to Disney World. There was no park we didn't love. Though Julie was not a "water baby" she loved riding on an inner tube on the lazy rivers in the various water parks at Disney World.

During our time together we rescued numerous dogs and cats that gave us great joy and comfort through the years. One of her greatest feats was turning me into a cat person and I thanked her daily for giving me that great joy.

Even though Julie had some tough health battles over the last 15 years, she never gave up. She was the strongest person I have ever known (and probably will ever know.) One of her most recent gifts to me was a license plate frame that read: "Married to Wonder Woman". There was never a truer statement.

She had tremendous faith in a higher existence which I know she is experiencing now with her father, cousin, uncles, aunts, and all her four-legged "babies."

Julie is survived by her mother, Joan Young; her sister, Debbie Griffin; her niece, Lisa (Lollis) Garcia; and her grandniece, L'Rissa Cobos, all of Roswell; and her husband, Robert (Bob) Zettel of Albuquerque. She is pre-deceased by her father, Johnny Young. She is also survived by her four-legged "babies", Maggie, Jada, Daisy, Misha, Chloe, and Sealey.

If anyone wishes, we ask that donations be given to the Roswell Humane Society in Roswell, NM.