RIP, Marcial Valdez

June 2, 1925 - August 14, 2009

Time of death: 4:38 a.m. MDT (just 11 hours after I arrived)
Pronounced dead: 5:53 a.m. MDT






Services to be arranged by French Mortuary (Wyoming branch). Here is the first draft of the obituary. A slightly-revised final draft will be published Sunday in the Albuquerque Journal:

VALDEZ – Marcial Valdez, age 84, passed away in his Albuquerque home in the early morning hours of August 14, 2009. Marcial was born June 2, 1925 in Myers, NM, to Felipe (an AT&SF railroad section foreman) and Carmelita Sena Valdez. Marcial’s first years were lived following the railroad with his family (e.g., in Morley, CO; and also in Maxwell, Hahn, and Hatch NM, among other places), but his family eventually settled in Bernalillo. In World War II, he served as an artilleryman in the 666th Field Artillery Battalion, Baker Battery, within the U.S. First Army, which was under the command of British Field Marshall Sir Bernard L. Montgomery. The 666th joined the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium’s Ardennes Forest on December 31, 1944, crossed the Rhine into Germany on March 25, 1945, and ultimately ended up in Salzburg, Austria after the war. After his return to NM, Marcial joined Sandia Corporation and worked for more than twenty years there as an accountant. He also built his own house in Corrales and raised his family there. In 1990, Marcial retired to Green Acres Mobile Home Park in Albuquerque’s North Valley. He is survived by his sister, Senaida Aragon of Bernalillo; three children; Marc Valdez of Sacramento, CA, and Michelle Browning and Marra Valdez-Newman of Albuquerque; his grandson Aaron Christopher Browning, and his son-in-law Ken Newman. Marcial’s wife, Marjorie Louise Buzzell Valdez, preceded him in death in 1992. The Valdez family would like to thank Harmony Home Health and Hospice, Disabled American Veterans, the dedicated health professionals at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Albuquerque, and Maxim Healthcare Services, as well as Marcial’s friends and neighbors. A memorial service will be held at French Mortuary’s Wyoming Blvd. location on Tuesday August 18, 2009. Public viewing begins at 10:30 a.m. Services start at 11:30 a.m. Burial is at 2:00 p.m.

Arrangements by:
French Mortuary
7121 Wyoming Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, 87109
(505) 823-9400