Laura Kathleen Padilla PH.D.

May 26, 1974 - March 16, 2014 Laura Kathleen Padilla of Colorado Springs passed away on March 16, 2014 after living with breast cancer for eleven years. A literary scholar, she received her BA in English from Reed College, her MA from Penn State University and her Ph.D. in English from the University of Texas at Austin with José Limón, Ph.D. serving as her major professor. She wrote about the literature of her native New Mexico with penetrating insight, unsparing honesty and trenchant wit. Her students at Colorado College, where she was an assistant professor, remember her as a thoughtful and demanding teacher. She is survived by her husband, Peter Haney, of Lawrence, Kansas and Colorado Springs, her in-laws, Carlena and Barney Haney; her brother-in-law, Jake Haney and spouse, Kristy Kaiser, of Dayton, Ohio and Haney relatives who came to love Laura as one of their own. She is also survived by her parents, Kathleen and Eligio R. Padilla; her sisters - twin sister, Sara Padilla, who devoted herself to Laura’s care throughout her struggle, especially the last two months, Amy Padilla; nieces, Mariyah and Myranda Waits and grand-nephew, Rayden Waits of Richmond, Virginia, Lisa Padilla Eaton; brother-in-law, Stephen Eaton and nephews, Alex, Aaron and Asher Eaton and Alison Rosner-Alison, all of Albuquerque. She is survived by a much larger extended family that has been in New Mexico for centuries in Alameda and Bernalillo and involved in the Atrisco and Carnue land grants, including aunt Dolores and uncle Carlos Durán, aunt Rose and uncle Frank Ortiz, aunt Loretta and uncle Ron McMath, uncle Eddie Padilla and aunt Doreen Ramírez, uncle Danny Padilla and aunt Irene Herrera and aunt Jan Vuchetich and husband Paul, as well as many beloved cousins. She is survived by a branch of her family that migrated to the United States from Chihuahua and Durango and settled in El Paso, Texas, including her maternal grandfather, Vicente Arroyo and wife Lee, aunt Sylvia and uncle Rudy Nolasco, aunt Carmen and uncle Rick Trujillo, aunt Aileen, uncle Vincent and aunt Ruby Arroyo of Santa Teresa, uncle Bill and aunt Joyce Arroyo, uncle Andrew Arroyo of San Diego, California, Stephany and husband Jeff Jones, Craig and Martha Arroyo and Christopher and Sarah Johnson-Arroyo. Her surviving grandaunt, Ofelia Arroyo, and her mother’s cousins in El Paso always warmly welcome the Padillas into their homes. Bobby and Lolita Natividad and children helped Laura and her family cope with homesickness when they lived in Los Angeles. She is also survived by several friends from her days at Reed, including Rachel Ihara, Lorelei Russ, Miranda Pearce, Kim Roche and Kartini Thomas, and her Sisterhood of Tejana Troublemakers, whom she loved dearly and who now teach at colleges and universities all over the country. Virginia Raymond, husband Tom Kolker and children Joey, Rebecca and Louis, embraced Laura and Pete, made the Padillas part of their family and provided a place to stay for her mother when Laura began treatment. Her roommate, Margarita Marinova, and later her husband, Enrico Rossi and children Eleanor and Isabel became part of the Padilla family and the voluntary kinship was reciprocated. The Padillas were warmly received by the Marinovs of Vratsa, Bulgaria and the Rossis of Trofarelo, Italy. Visiting with Margarita and Enrico’s families in Bulgaria and Italy and celebrating Eleanor’s first birthday in Italy is a treasured memory for all of the Padillas. Laura was preceded in death by her grandmother, Alice Arroyo, her great grandmother, María del Refugio Hernández de Hernández (Gramma Cuca), her Nana and Tata, Josefita Sánchez and Eligio J. Padilla and uncles Conrad and Joe Mel Padilla. Memorial gifts in lieu of flowers should be sent to Breast Cancer Action, 55 New Montgomery Street, Suite 323, San Francisco, CA 94105, National Mill Dog Rescue, P.O. Box 88468, Colorado Springs, CO 80908 or Casa Esperanza, 1005 Yale Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106. Rosary will be Friday, March 21, 2014, 7:00 p.m. at FRENCH – Lomas. Funeral Mass will be Saturday, March 22, 2014, 9:00 a.m. at Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 9502 4th Street NW, Albuquerque, NM 87114. Burial will follow at San Carlos Cemetery.