Rita Mae (Jurney) Critchfield

RITA CRITCHFIELD

Born September 26, 1944, in San Diego, California, died June 26, 2020, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Rita passed away peacefully amongst her family and friends at her granddaughter Kodi’s house in Rio Rancho. She is survived by her daughter Elizabeth Sands, granddaughter Kodi Gonzales, great granddaughter Aubree Gonzales, and Homey her Jack Russell Terrier.

Rita grew up in San Diego, CA. She had a profound love for the ocean and spent a large part of her childhood on the beach. She also enjoyed spending time in the kitchen with her mom, learning how to cook. This was time well spent as she was an excellent cook. She enjoyed sharing these skills with her daughter and granddaughter. Traveling also brought her great pleasure, and she enjoyed meeting new people. Rita graduated from Point Loma High School in 1962, where she met her husband Bob Critchfield. They had one child, Rita’s only child, Elizabeth in 1972. Not only did Rita share her love of cooking with her daughter, but she also shared her love of animals. My mom always encouraged my love for animals and was understanding and patient every time I rescued another one. At one point we had eight dogs, two horses, two cats, and one goat. I’ll never forget the sacrifices she made so I could have all those animals. Only once did she tell me we had to get rid of one. He was a 150-pound lab mix, and she said we couldn’t afford to feed him. We found him a good home.

Rita also went to college at San Diego State College and worked in education her whole career. She began at St. Pius in Albuquerque, then later moved to Los Alamos with her family where she got a job at Los Alamos High School Library. From there, Rita got a job at UNM Los Alamos and eventually went to Zimmerman Library at UNM Main Campus in Albuquerque. Rita retired from a long successful career at UNM after 30+ years as the Human Resource Administrator for the five libraries. She was also on the fire team to help restore Zimmerman Library after its devastating fire in 2006.

Rita dedicated her life to helping others with peaceful resolutions. Her true concern for others is what made her such a success at both UNM and a mediator for the Albuquerque Metro Court system. She began her mediation journey in 1991. She made many friends along the way and had her own business, PeaceMakers, with partner and friend Bob Curtis. She enjoyed her retirement by spending time with family and friends but continued helping others by joining a group for elder mediation. She met two of her dear friends in this group, Brenda and Marcia. The three of them formed a special bond and were like family.

She had to quit the group when she got diagnosed with cancer for the third time. As sick as she was, she always kept up good spirits and a positive attitude, through all of her health battles. Rita was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010, 2017, and again with the final diagnosis in 2019. The last diagnosis had metastasized to her lungs and bones. Through it all, she continued to amaze us all. As she battled for her life, she continued to make friends and help people. I remember when they were prepping her for her pacemaker surgery, she was helping one of the nurses with some human resources related issues. She wanted to make sure I gave them her number so when she got better, she could help them, and she did just that. My mom always took the time to ask others how they were doing. She knew about all of her friends’ vacations, family and even health problems. I always used to think to myself, “I bet she knows more about these people than some of their family does.” She was an excellent listener, and her listening skills undoubtedly contributed to her successful career at UNM and as a mediator.

I was fortunate enough to spend the past year taking care of my mom. Through all the sickness, she made times fun and special. One of her favorite pastimes was shopping. After her first major heart surgery, she was supposed to walk a lot. When the Dr. asked her if she had been walking, she replied with, “Yes, we walked all around American Furniture shopping for couches!” It was neither mine nor Kodi’s favorite thing to do, but after she got sick, it brought us great joy to watch her driving the shopping cart around the stores, doing what she enjoyed. She got great pleasure out of buying gifts for others. For as long as she could, she loved spending time working in her yard, and her yard itself is a testament to that. People she didn’t even know would stop by while she was working in the yard and thank her for working so hard because they loved to drive by her yard every day and look at all the beautiful flowers.

Rita was a loving, generous, kind and patient mother, grandmother and friend. She will be greatly missed. Although we carry a deep sorrow in our hearts, we will always hold the memories of Rita near and dear to our hearts. We are all blessed and better people for having Rita in our lives. So, remember her with joy and love, as she will always remember and love you.

We would like to say a special thanks to my mom’s longtime friend and boss, Fran Wilkinson, for all her help and support.

There are no funeral arrangements at this time due to COVID-19. We will have a celebration of life when times are better and safer for all who would like to celebrate the special gift of Rita Critchfield.