Emma D. Writtenberry

Emma D. Writtenberry, age 95, a loving mother, whose grace, elegance, and wit lit up a room, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, August 6, 2019.  Emma was born to Jose Rafael Luna and Rafaelita Garcia in Velarde, NM, on Sunday, December 23, 1923. Emma was one of five children. She had three sisters and one brother.  Emma was best known for her exuberance toward life and her curious inquisitive mind.  She loved her family and extended family.  She attended and graduated from McCurdy High School when she was 15, and from the University of New Mexico when she was 19.  Once she started teaching, she was often the same age as some of her students!

Growing up in Northern NM, Emma enjoyed gardening, picking fruit for harvest from the orchards, tending to the sheep, sewing, reading and baking.

In 1954, she married Mason V. Writtenberry, who had relocated from Kentucky to Los Alamos, NM.  They enjoyed 38 years together before his death in 1991.  They enjoyed attending Lobo basketball games.

Emma was known for her loving and generous heart, and she was always willing to help others in need.  She had a dry sense of humor, contagious laugh, and wit.  She was also well known for correcting anyone's grammatical English structure, making sure that the tense was correct, the correct adjective was used, and if necessary, to include a preposition.  It's who she was, a former English teacher and an Executive Assistant to the Dean of Admissions at UNM.

She is survived by her two children, James Mason Writtenberry and Cheryl A. Loy, husband David, both of Albuquerque; her stepdaughter, Nora Dell Fisher and husband, Ken Fisher of Indiana; three grandchildren, Brandon Writtenberry, Jordan Writtenberry, and his wife, Alexis, and granddaughter, Sarah Alyssa Loy.  Emma is also survived by her younger sister, Olinda Chavez of Albuquerque.  Emma leaves behind many nieces, nephews, and cousins.  She always said that she had a long happy life and was very thankful for everything and everyone who passed through it along her wonderful journey.

A Memorial Service will be held on Monday, August 19, 2019, 11:30 a.m., at FRENCH – University with a Reception to follow.