Libby M. Sanchez

1925-2013 Libby M. Sanchez, age 88, a life-long resident of Belen, left this world to be with her Lord and Savior on Saturday November 9, 2013. After graduating from Belen High School and marrying her high school sweetheart she lived with her parents while her husband went to serve in the armed forces during World War II. She and her first-born son, Ernest Jr. waited for three years before finally being reunited with her husband. In modest surroundings they began a life long commitment of raising a large family, which was her dream being an only child. During the first part of her life as a mother and wife she was involved in the Home Maker’s Extension Club of Valencia County. The Homemaker’s Club was a vehicle of creativity that influenced the way she cooked and decorated her home. She served as Treasurer for the club later earning an Associates Degree in Home Economics from New Mexico State University. Many in the community still remember her by the ceramic classes she taught, and enjoy having something she made for them. She also hosted several University of New Mexico Peace Corp volunteers in her home. This brought many memorable experiences for her children and for the Peace Corp Volunteers it was a home away from home. She also became interested in promoting women’s skin care becoming a Mary Kay Beauty Consultant. This was not only a tool by which she enriched other women’s lives, but also a way she connected with the many new daughter-in-laws that were suddenly expanding her already large family. She never placed any limitations on herself and when it came to traveling with a large family she just looked at it as just one more fun thing to do with her children and husband. Libby took advantage of every cubic inch of the family station wagon packing it with both food and children. Many family vacations were taken which in time covered most of the fifty states. She and her husband continued to travel after the children were gone and they enjoyed parts of Europe, the Caribbean, Central and South America. After 66 years of marriage her husband passed away and Libby found herself lonely and without purpose. She began to write short stories as a way to remember the full life she had experienced. She began to share her stories while taking a writing class in California. She was encouraged by her instructor to write a book. Her book, “It’s Possible It Happened to Me” chronicles the joys and hardships of raising a large family, and how life is all about attitude and faith. Shortly after the book was printed she suffered from a stroke, losing a substantial amount of her vision, which was already diminished by macular degeneration. She left for California to live with her daughter, Carla, where she attended the Southern California School for the Blind and learned how to overcome being visually impaired. While attending she learned how to be more independent and learned how to make neck pillows. She graduated and received her diploma and returned home to live on her own. With the help of her family she lived on her own, and made neck pillow to bless others. Generosity was on of her many gifts. The neck pillows she made and gave away brought comfort and happiness to those around her. Libby was a longstanding member of Calvary Chapel Rio Grande and was active in several ministries within the church. She was preceded in death by her husband, Ernest G. Sanchez; her infant daughter, Ramona Elizabeth Sanchez (Mona Lisa); her parents, Alberto and Trinidad Moya; and her grandson, Armand Sanchez. Libby is survived by her nine children and their spouses, Ernest Sanchez and his wife, Marylou, Sylvia Williams and her husband, Mason, Audrey Garcia and her husband, Gene, Andy Sanchez and his wife, Cheryl, Leroy Sanchez and his wife, Cecilia, Michael Sanchez and his wife, Margaret, Clyde Sanchez and his wife, Dorothy Jo, Carla Madrid and her husband, Dennis, Albert Sanchez and his wife, Linda, and 48 grandchildren and 76 great-grandchildren. All services will be held at Calvary Chapel Rio Grande Valley in Belen beginning with a Viewing on Saturday, November 16th, at 9:30 a.m. with a Funeral Service to be held at 10:00 a.m. Interment will be held at Fairview Memorial Park in Albuquerque on Saturday, November 16th at 12:30 p.m. Sign Libby’s online register book at www.romerfuneralhome.com Romero Funeral Home, 609 N. Main St., Belen

Libby M. Sanchez

April 27, 1925 - November 9, 2013