Marise Lee McFadden

Marise Lee (Friesen) McFadden passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her loving family on February 15, 2022 following a long, valiant battle with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Her life began as a Christmas present on December 24, 1947. And much in the style of her loving way, she stayed with us long enough to celebrate one last Valentine’s Day which, just like her, embodies love and connection, before earning her angel wings on February 15th, 2022.

Along with her beloved husband of 55 years, Gerald (Jerry) McFadden, Marise is deeply mourned by her daughter, Krysten McFadden-Lingner and husband Michael; her son, Scott McFadden and wife Tracy; her granddaughters, Ashely and Madison Daniels; her grandson, Kellan McFadden; her sister and brother-in-law, Cheryl and Ed MacLaughlin; her nieces and nephews, Catherine Campbell and husband Ian, Maria Friesen, Andrew MacLaughlin and wife Angelica, and Carl Friesen and wife Helen; her great-nieces and nephew, Colette, Alasdair and Evangeline Campbell, and her many, many cousins and friends. It would be remiss not to mention Marise’s beloved Boston Terrier, Tux, who was her staunch, self-appointed guardian. He diligently watched over her and refused to leave her side during her final days. Marise was preceded in death by her parents Clarence and Gloria Friesen, her brother Jeffrey Friesen, and her grandparents, John and Isabel Knudson and Ed and Martha Friesen.  Marise graduated from Lutheran High School in Denver, CO in 1965 and moved to Albuquerque, NM where she met the love of her life, Jerry, while they both worked at JC Penney. They married in 1966 and the following year, welcomed their first child,  Krysten, to the world. They lived in Las Vegas, NM while Jerry finished his degree at NM Highlands University. Shortly after Jerry graduated from college, he was deployed to Korea with the Air National Guard. Marise and Krysten moved to Randallstown, Maryland where they lived with her parents for the duration of Jerry’s deployment.  Upon Jerry’s return from Korea, the family of three moved back to Albuquerque and became a family of four with the birth of their second child, Scott in 1970.  Marise was a stay at home mom and homemaker until Scott entered elementary school.  She then enrolled at the University of New Mexico and earned a BA in Community  Health in 1982. During her studies, Marise remained an involved mom who attended practices and games and all of the many activities her kids were involved in, and especially loved Scott’s baseball and football games. One of Marise’s superpowers was her ability to maintain balance in her life. This was never more evident than when she was able to juggle her marriage, motherhood, a career and school all at the same time when she returned to UNM and earned a Master’s Degree in Public Administration in 1996.  Immediately following the completion of her undergraduate work at UNM in 1982, Marise accepted a position as a caseworker with the NM Human Services Department’s Income Support Division (ISD) and she made public service her career until she retired in 2009. While at ISD, Marise was instrumental in the creation and implementation of number of progressive programs including Project Forward which assisted many women and men in gaining the education, training and employment they needed to move from public assistance to independence. Marise loved working for the State of New Mexico and commuted to Santa Fe for many years as she rose through ranks of public service to ultimately become the director of the division she originally began her career with in 1982. She was well respected by both her clients and her colleagues, many of whom became dear, lifelong friends. Toward the end of her career, Marise took her expertise and moved from ISD to the Aging and Long-term Services Department where once again she was instrumental in the creation of another program, Mi Via, which was based on the progressive belief that elderly and disabled persons could make better choices for their care and support than the government could. Mi Via was one of the first Medicaid Waiver choice programs in the country and it continues to this this day to provide personal choice to persons with health and ability challenges. It goes without saying that Marise was a fervent feminist, a committed liberal and a solid Democrat who believed in justice and equality for all.  As much as Marise loved and focused on her career, it was her grandchildren that by far, brought her the most joy in her life. She relished being a grandma or Gma as she was lovingly known as by Ashley, Madison and Kellan. They were truly the apple of her eye. “Gma” was their biggest cheerleader. She wholeheartedly loved watching Ashey’s and Madison’s dance recitals, award ceremonies, and school plays and Kellan’s soccer and football practices and games.  After her retirement (and even before), Marise’s obsession became traveling to as many new destinations as she could find. She embarked on trips both in the US and abroad, visiting many European countries including Ireland, Germany, Russia, Poland, and Italy in addition to Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Mexico, Canada, and Cuba to name just a few. She was scheduled to visit Iceland, Greenland and Scotland when the pandemic unfortunately derailed her plans. Marise loved planning trips and especially loved cruises. She always included as many of her family and friends as she could round up to join her on her many adventures in other lands. But as much as Marise loved traveling abroad, some of her all-time most favorite trips were spent in Disneyworld with grandkids.  Marise enhanced the lives of those around her in all the chapters of her life. She loved a good party and hosted many gatherings both large and small. Some of her most favorite times were spent enjoying great conversations and laughter with family and friends over a good bottle of wine, her signature Scotch and Soda, or if you were lucky enough, one of her homemade Bloody Marys. Marise was an amazing wife, mother, grandmother, friend and joyful traveling companion who brought fun and laughter to every venue.  She most certainly enriched the fabric of our lives and she is and will continue to be greatly missed. Rest in peace dear Marise.

We wish to extend an invitation to Marise’s family and friends to join us in celebrating her extraordinary life on Friday, May 13, 2022, 11:00 a.m. at FRENCH - Lomas. The celebration will continue following the service with a reception at 2:00 p.m. at the Hidden Valley Community Clubhouse, located at 605 Green Valley Drive SE, Albuquerque, NM 87123.

In honor of Marise’s bright and fun-loving nature, feel free to ditch the black and wear bright colored clothing! Her love belonged to everyone who loved her, so we invite you to write in the comments section following the FRENCH Funeral online obituary any special memories and/or stories that you may have about time spent with Marise.

Those stories strengthen and comfort all of us and we treasure each and every one of them.