Marie Grier

GRIER, MARIE D.Marie D. Grier passed away on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013, at her home in Rio Rancho, N.M. She was 90. She was born in Raton, N.M., on June 11, 1922. Her father was a shoemaker and her mother a housewife. Growing up during the Great Depression, Marie was instilled with a great sense of perseverance and understood the value of hard work. She went on to share those values with her family and never let a moment pass without offering encouragement and reminding her family to never give up. Marie attended high school in Raton before traveling to Denver, Colo., and then on to Cheyenne, Wyo., where she worked for the general at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base. She found her way to California and eventually landed a job in the shipyards in San Francisco. She married Edwin Grier in 1951. After living briefly in Illinois, she, her husband, two sons and young daughter made New Mexico their home in the late 1950s. After her husband's untimely death, she was forced to raise her three children alone. She learned to drive and bought her first car and first home in 1967. The previous year, she went to work for Albuquerque Public Schools as a baker. She enjoyed watching countless children grow up as they visited with her in the lunch line every day _ from Atrisco, Carlos Rey and Navajo Elementary schools to Rio Grande and West Mesa high schools. Her hands well worn from 21 years of kneeding dough and mixing batter, she retired at the end of the school year in 1987. Even after she left her cafeteria post at Navajo Elementary, she was well known for her rolls, cakes and other desserts. At home, if she wasn't in the kitchen, she was spending time outside _ either in the garden growing her tomatoes, onions and squash, or taking long walks along the South Valley's ditch banks. She enjoyed picking wild blackberries and teaching her granddaughter how to make tortillas, and she rarely missed going to the swimming pool three times a week with her fellow senior citizens. She kept the road hot with her 1967 Volkswagen Beetle and didn't believe in wasting anything. If something broke, she would find a way to fix it. From a young age, she was not afraid to venture out on her own. That sense of adventure coupled with her big heart made for a unique package that was simply Marie. She was a very special woman who will be sorely missed by her family and friends. She was preceded in death by her father, Francisco Paradisa; mother Eva M. Wolfe; brother Tony Paradisa; and husband Edwin Grier. She is survived by son Larry Grier, daughter-in-law Mariam and grandsons Christopher and Tyler of Rio Rancho, N.M.; son David Grier of Tijeras, N.M.; and daughter Debra Montoya, son-in-law Eugene Montoya, and granddaughter Susan Montoya Bryan, all of Rio Rancho, N.M. A rosary will be held Tuesday, Jan. 15, at 7:30 p.m. at French Funerals-Cremations, 1950 Pine Rd. NE, Rio Rancho, N.M. Burial will be Wednesday, Jan. 16, at 10 a.m. at Sunset Memorial Park in Albuquerque, N.M. Please visit our online guest book for Marie at Pine Road NE505-338-2000