Agnes Cornelia Apodaca

Agnes was born in Tucumcari, New Mexico on April 30, 1929. She was the 2nd of seven children born to Manuel and Domitilia Blea. Agnes was the loving mother to 11 children — 8 sons and 3 daughters; George (Cathy), Jose Jr (Cindy), Robert, Leonard (Sandy), Mary (Zeke) Trujillo, Dora Apodaca, Herman (Audrey), Theresa Elsmore, Marty (Theresa), Christopher, and Orlando Apodaca.

Grandmother to 36: Ron (Aurita), Andrea (Morgan), Sarah (Zeke), Jose lll (Jennifer), Robert Jr., Anthony, Jovanka, Jose, Justin (Kenna), Jeremy (Michelle), Joseph, Cristina, Alexis (Jake), Joshua, Danielle (Toshi), Daniel (Vanessa), Michael (Amber), Gabriel, Melissa (Eduardo), Kyndal, Tatiana, Tamara (Erik) and Milana (Alex). Great-grandmother to 47 and Great-great-grandmother to 4. Agnes was a loving sister to Ramona Cordova and Mary Jane Trevino both living in Albuquerque, NM.

She was preceded in death by her loving husband Jose Apodaca, her mother Domitilia Garcia and father Manuel Blea. She is also preceded in death by her sister (Antonia Rice), three brothers (Herman, Jimmy & Richard Blea) and her granddaughter Katya Apodaca.

In her early years, Agnes helped with household chores and shared in the care of her younger siblings. This began her philosophy of “everyone pulls their weight regardless of age”. She passed this expectation to her kids and grandkids.

After Agnes completed 8th grade, she worked to help her family survive the great depression. Even at this age, she made her family a priority and earned what she could to help make ends meet. She gained the skills she would find useful in later life Her jobs consisted of working in laundromats, washing clothes and ironing for neighbors and friends.

Agnes met her husband, Jose in1945. They were married on Dec 16, 1946 at St. Annes Catholic church in Tucumcari, New Mexico. They were married for 44 years until his death on Sept. 9, 1990. With the passing of her husband, Agnes ventured into a life where she relied on her faith and personal strength to become a strong independent woman who took charge of her new life.

After her marriage to Jose, they began their life together in Tucumcari, New Mexico and later moved to SW Albuquerque, New Mexico. They took pride in building their first home from the ground up with cinderblock. The structure was approx. 14 x 20 and was home to the first seven of their eleven children.

Around 1956, they bought a new home in NE Albuquerque. Four more kids came along and now there were 13 people in a 3 bedroom 1 1/2 bath home. You can only image how loud it was and how chaotic things were, but Agnes looked beyond that and saw the home as a safe place to raise her growing family.

Agnes and Jose made a difficult decision to leave their beloved Albuquerque in 1968. They moved to NW Denver and were later rewarded with children that prospered in their new home. Although they dearly missed their family in New Mexico, it was a decision they never regretted, they called Colorado their home.

Agnes loved to sew, shop, pray her rosary, walk and watch scary movies. She shared her passion for long walks and scary movies with her grandchildren. One of many memories her grandchildren recall and cherish is Grandma taking them for VERY LONG walks. The walks occurred regardless of the weather: rain, wind, shine, snow or hot sweltering heat. “LONG” walks often meant walking from Thornton to Arvada, but each grandchild knew not to complain.

Watching scary movies became a ritual whenever grandchildren visited. Grandma added her element of surprise (BOO) when there was a suspenseful moment and would laugh at the face and reaction of those watching with her. She was also notorious for pulling pranks on anyone in the household. She would leave a small figurine on someone’s pillow to frighten them after watching a scary movie or would replace the sugar with salt on April Fools' Day.

Shopping was a favorite hobby. When Agnes shopped, she insisted on a cart and would stroll the empty cart from isle to isle. At the end of her shopping excursion, more often than not, the few items she placed in her cart were returned to the shelf. She would explain, “I really didn’t need it, so I put it back”. Shopping with Grandma meant throwing time out the window because she spent hours shopping without spending a dime. Secretly, we enjoyed this time with her..

Another favorite memory is the smell of her fresh tortillas. There was nothing like snatching her thick warm tortillas off the stove as soon as they were done. We spread butter that melted and oozed off the tortilla, oh what a mess. You know what, she never got mad, she just made more. The aroma that came from her kitchen meant we were always in for a treat. The lingering smell of the roasted chilies, roasted pinion, beans, sopapillas and even her fried potatoes had that special mom smell we will forever remember.

Her granddaughters fondly remember Grandma combing their long hair. She often styled their hair in braids that were tight enough to cause their eyes to look like they were squinting. Although the finished style was flawless, it was again understood that being still was an absolute and complaining was not an option.

Agnes had an adventurous side that was unexpected from this quiet, god fearing, family oriented women. She had a secret, Agnes LOVED speed. She loved having the wind blow through her hair and whip across her face as the landscape quickly passed before her eyes. Behind that helmet and dark glasses, we could see her big wide smile and twinkling eyes….Agnes was in her Happy place.

A motorcycle ride on her son Leonard’s motorcycle was the highlight of her day and she looked forward to those special moments. Agnes also found joy as a passenger on an ATV riding through mountain roads with a chill in the air and snow on the ground. She couldn’t get enough with one pass, she always asked for repeat rides in freezing temperatures.

She was easy to please except when it came to eating. As a picky eater, she loved her Pepsi, bean burritos and sweets. Road trips were challenging because nothing on the restaurant menus ever sounded good. On one of her long car trips, she blurted out ” I will have just a coke, nothing else”. As you can image, it took serious persuading to have her eat something in addition to her coke. Oh did I say she always inspected her food before even thinking about eating it - it was quite a scene.

One of her joys was traveling to visit her sisters, brothers, nieces and nephews in New Mexico. She took pleasure in surprising them with her visits. When Agnes traveled, she always packed her Rosary and her favorite Santo Nino de Atocha before she packed her clothes. The statue was about 12 inches tall so you can image there wasn’t room for many clothes. She knew what was important.

Agnes used her time and creative talent to make quilts, ornaments, embroidered towels and wall hangings as gifts to family. Many times these gifts were presented at birthdays, but so often they were given “Just Because I was thinking of you”

At Christmas time she presented each household or single adult with a set of embroidered towels or hand crafted ornaments and each grandchild received a special gift - often Christmas pajamas. She enjoyed being a giver and watching the expression of those receiving her gift. She never expected anything in return, for her, the smile was enough.

She loved her family and embraced anyone who stepped in her home - she had a special way of making everyone feel like family. Her love will go on forever and she will forever be missed.