Maria Del Pilar Gallegos

Maria "Mary" Del Pilar Gallegos, the daughter of Jacobo and Ascencion Velarde, she was born and raised in Velarde, New Mexico. She grew up picking apples, cherries, apricots, and pears with her three sisters and three brothers on her father's orchard. She remembers, as a young girl, shining apples and bringing them up to the highway to sell. In her early years, she worked as a Candy Striper in Los Alamos and as a telephone operator in Santa Fe. She was on the path to becoming a nun until she met and married Eddie Gallegos. This was fortunate because if anyone was born to be a mom, it was Mary. She gave birth to five children in six years - a very busy household and a lot of cloth diapers to wash. They moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she and Eddie raised their family. She was employed at Smith's Foodway as a cashier for over 25 years. She always had a smile on her face and loved to sing and dance the jitterbug.

She is survived by her children: Steve and his wife Kay Marie, Frank, Venisa and her husband Charlie, Anthony and his wife Ella, and her grandchildren Tyler, Corina, and Sophia. She is preceded in death by her husband Eddie and her daughter Lisa. She was very much loved and will be missed. Information on a Funeral mass will be provided at a later date.