Marie Dolores Gallegos

In the early hours of August 22, 2014, Marie Dolores (“Dolores”) Gallegos peacefully passed away. Dolores, 75, bravely faced a terminal diagnosis of gastric cancer, refused chemotherapy, and chose to live out her final days as fully as possible with her children and grandchildren. Dolores was born in 1939 to her mother, Juanita Chavez Gutierrez, and her father, Ignacio Gutierrez, in Las Vegas, New Mexico. She was the second to the youngest of ten children. She enjoyed an idyllic childhood in El Pueblo, New Mexico nurtured by her mother whom she adored. The soundtrack of her early life included the radio blaring the Grand Ole Opry, the trickle of the nearby creek, and on summer evenings, the voices of her brothers singing mournful corridos. She loved to dance and often attended dances in her hometown with her siblings. As a result of her keen intellect and appetite for learning, she skipped two grades and earned her high school degree at the age of 15. At the age of 16, Dolores likely became the first female radio announcer in the Southwest, working for Spanish-language KABQ in Albuquerque. Dolores had a noontime radio program, spinning her favorite Spanish songs. There she met radio personality Joe Gallegos, whom she married on July 15, 1957. The wedding was held at Immaculate Conception church in downtown Albuquerque where guests filled the pews and poured out of the church despite the fact that the wedding was held on a Monday morning. By 1966, Dolores had become the devoted mother of three daughters and a son. She considered being a mother and wife her singular and sacred calling. She often described the sanctity of the mother-child bond and instilled the critical importance of parenting to her children. As a grandmother, she lavishly showered her love on her nine grandchildren who gave her great pride and joy. At the age of 42, Dolores resumed her education at the University of New Mexico. In 1986, Dolores earned her Bachelor of Arts and shortly thereafter became a certified court interpreter. For decades and up until months before her death, Dolores interpreted at trials, hearings, and other legal proceedings for the Department of Homeland Security, the Social Security Administration, and various private parties. Dolores traveled on a national tour with Argentine human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, serving as his personal interpreter. She excelled in simultaneous interpretation and was equally proficient in interpreting English to Spanish and Spanish to English. Through the years Dolores kept involved with local politics. She served as precinct chair and campaigned for several candidates for office including Toney Anaya, who later became governor of New Mexico. On several occasions she also worked for Senator John Pinto and other legislators while the New Mexico Legislature was in session. Dolores had a rich and complex personality: solemnly respectful of cultural and religious traditions but with an irreverent sense of humor; a sophisticated woman with simple taste; a reserved and quiet person who engaged strangers in conversation everywhere she went; a self-effacing individual whose extraordinary compassion profoundly touched the lives of her children, her grandchildren, and a vast host of people who were fortunate enough to have known her. Dolores is survived by her children: Pia Gallegos, Yolanda Gallegos, Ruben Gallegos and his spouse, Christina, and Victoria Gallegos and her spouse, Ben Lankasky; her grandchildren: Luna, Alma, and Che Olavarría Gallegos, Marina and Ingrid Hartzell Gallegos, Catherine, Ramon, Ruben, and Elizabeth Gallegos; her siblings: Mollie Romero, Paul Gutierrez, Fannie Tafoya, Ignacio Gutierrez, and Rita Medina; several nephews and nieces; and Amber, her golden retriever. She is predeceased by her parents; her siblings: Elfido Gutierrez, Mary Duran, Alisandro (Alex) Gutierrez, and Antonio Jose (Tony) Gutierrez; and by her former husband, Joe I.A. Gallegos. Funeral and Memorial Service will be held on the morning of Monday, September 1, 2014, 10:30 a.m., at Los Poblanos Historic Inn, 4803 Rio Grande Blvd. NW, Albuquerque, NM. Mass at Risen Savior Church will precede the service at 8:30 a.m. Contact family for details. At a later date, her ashes will be buried near her mother in accordance with her final wishes.

Marie Dolores Gallegos

May 21, 1939 - August 22, 2014