Eloy
Eloy Romero
d. August 20, 2017
Eloy G. Romero, age 89, a lifelong resident of Velarde, passed away peacefully on Sunday, August 20, 2017 at his home surrounded by his loving family. He passed away after a valiant struggle with several illnesses these past two years. The seventh of nine children, he was born in Velarde on August 31, 1927, to Flavio and Cirila Romero. Eloy was preceded in death by his daughter, Martha (Alire), his parents, Flavio and Cirila, his sisters, Lucia Serna, Rafaelita (Lita) Gutierrez and Sophie Vigil, brothers, Flavio, Jr., Jose and Levi, father-in-law, Luis Archuleta and mother-in-law, Josefina Archuleta and an aunt he was very close to, Aunt Aleja (Martinez), from Abiquiu. Most important in his life was his faith in God and his family; his wife, children and grandchildren. His faith in God was instilled in him and his siblings by his Catholic parents. Both, he and his wife, Bernice, prayed the Rosary daily. He always exhibited his strong faith in God, even in trying times, stating, “Don’t worry, God gives us everything.”, never fearing the present or the future. His faith in God was passed on to all his children. He saw that they attended St. Anthony’s Catholic School with the Dominican Nuns in Dixon until the school closed. He was always there for his children, regardless of the need, big or small. He will always be treasured and greatly missed by his family.
Years ago, he served as a Mayórdomo of Our Lady of Guadalupé Church in Velarde. Besides doing weekly maintenance during his term and decorating the church for Lent, Easter, Christmas and other Holy Days, he, with his sons helping him, replaced the large worn-out front doors of the church with customized doors, and he also replaced the cross on top of the bell tower and re-roofed the sacristy of the church. At that time, he said that his work was his gift to his church.
He loved to use his various skills and intelligence to help people. He helped many people in his community, especially the elderly, who could not afford a master carpenter. He maintained a humble respect for them, remodeling their kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms and replacing their gabled roofs. He enjoyed seeing the joy in their faces when the job was complete. He would ask for a cup of coffee in mid-afternoon, sitting down and enjoyed visiting with his customers, the homeowners, for 20 minutes; that would be sufficient compensation for him.
The core of his essence was praying to God and working. Consequently, he instituted a strong religious faith and work-ethic in his children. He primarily worked in heavy-duty commercial construction, serving as the Carpenter Foreman many times, including during the building of the Cochiti Dam Intake Tower and Spillway. He worked at his craft in the building of the Abiquiu Dam, the Loretto Inn and Spa Resort, many concrete buildings in Los Alamos and Santa Fe and steel and concrete bridges across roadways in New Mexico.
He served in the United States Army during the WW II era and later in the United States Merchant Marines. He received the WW II Victory Medal.
He retired as a union carpenter from the Carpenter’s Local Union #1353. In 2013, he was recognized, with his family present at his side, at a ceremony at the Carpenter’s Union Hall in Albuquerque as its third longest serving union member at that time, completing 60 years in the union.
He was also a farmer. He farmed his land for over 50 years, growing several types of chile, sweet corn, white corn, tomatoes, squash, green beans, peas, watermelons, melons and every variety of local fruit, including apples, peaches, nectarines, pears, plums, grapes, and cherries. He tended to his garden as late as last week, irrigating and spraying his vegetables, chile, corn and watermelons and even picking a few chile peppers. His crop continues to grow and flourish.
Eloy and his wife, Bernice, are co-founding farmers at the Santa Fe Farmer’s Market where they sold their vegetables and fruit to their very loyal customers over the past 20 years. They were honored by the Santa Fe Farmer’s Market Board of Directors with the inscription and placement of one of the red bricks that adorn the walking path at the Farmer’s Market with their names “Eloy and Bernice” and “Romero’s Farm” inscribed.
Eloy especially loved spending his time outdoors; fishing, hunting and camping, having fished the many waters in New Mexico, Colorado, Alaska and many times with his nephews in the San Francisco Bay area. He also enjoyed hunting elk, deer, antelope and oryx. He either had his wife, Bernice, and his sons with him on his outings and sometimes his daughters and their spouses, some of his grandchildren, as well as close friends. He had many of the prize fish that he caught mounted. Those beautiful mounts now reside in game rooms or family rooms of his children. He and his wife, Bernice, also enjoyed traveling with their children to such places as Australia, Alaska, Hawaii, Niagara Falls, New York City, Washington, D.C., South Bend, Indiana (Notre Dame), the Florida area, San Diego, San Francisco, San Antonio, Nashville, Elvis Presley’s Graceland in Memphis and took a Mexican Riviera Cruise and an Alaskan Cruise on the Holland Statendam and a Caribbean Cruise to the Virgin Islands, Grand Cayman Islands and Cozumal.
Surviving him are his wife of 67 years, Bernice, his children, Alvan (Martha Torrez), Sandra (Liz) Sandoval (Victor), Debbie Faculjak (Paul), Carol Lutz (husband Daniel passed away), Kevin (Renee), Daniel Anthony (Lisa), Ray (Corina) and Janice Martinez (Adrian). Also surviving him are his son-in-law, Steve Alire, brother, Paul of Albuquerque and his sister, Flora Ortiz of Truth or Consequences, grandchildren Jennifer, Michelle, Brandy, April, Sara, Cindy, Matthew, Eloy, Brian, Ashley, Brittany, Daniel, Ricky, Ronnie, Daniel, Dawnica, Kateri, Darian, Jarryd, Katrina (LaTanya), Melissa, Lindsey, Kelsey, Ray, Jeremy, Kaitlyn, Lana and Angél, 28 great-grandchildren and many nieces, nephews and several cousins.
Public visitation will begin on Monday, August 28, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. in the Sangre de Cristo Chapel of DeVargas Funeral Home & Crematory, with a rosary to be recited at 7:00 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday, August 29, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Francis Cathedral in Santa Fe with the burial following at the Santa Fe National Cemetery at 12:45 p.m. with full military honors. Serving the family as pallbearers will be Ray Romero, Jeremy Romero, Daniel Romero, Matthew Sandoval, Eloy Faculjak, Ricky Quinones, Darian Romero and Angél Martinez, honorary pallbearers are all his other grandsons and granddaughters. The Eulogy will be delivered by one of his children. The family has entrusted the care of their loved one to the DeVargas Funeral Home and Crematory of the Española Valley.
Eulogy:
As Delivered by Alvan Eloy Romero
At St. Francis Cathedral
Santa Fe, New Mexico
On August 29, 2017
First of all, I want to thank all of you that are here this morning, accompanying us, and I also want to thank all those who have accompanied Mom and our family during this very painful week. We will forever remember all of you. I have a few minutes this morning to eulogize Dad. I have some really good stories about Dad that I wish I could have shared with you, that you would have enjoyed. The stories would have given you a clearer glimpse of dad’s personality and how intelligent he was, but I won’t have the time, perhaps I can share some of those stories with you at a later time. Thank you Father Adam for giving me this time. What could anyone possibly say in a few minutes to encapsulate Dad’s 90 years of life! Obviously, I know that is impossible. I will say that, above all, Dad believed in God! His strong belief and faith in God gave him all the confidence in the world that things would always work out for him and his family, regardless of how things might look at the time. He, like his parents, prayed his entire life and was a churchgoing Catholic. His strong faith in God was passed on to all his children and grandchildren. What an unforgettable life Dad had! He was born on August 31, 1927 in Velarde to Flavio and Cirila Romero. He came from a close-knit Catholic family of nine children. Of his nine brothers and sisters, only Uncle Paul, who is with us here today, and Aunt Flora, who will be 96 years old this October, and cannot travel, remain with us now. Dad and Mom were married on April 22, 1950. They had nine children together. They celebrated 67 years together this past spring. They were inseparable and shared many wonderful years together with so many memories. They were true partners and took care of one another until the end. Dad was an extremely caring and compassionate man. He dedicated his entire life to his family; his wife, children and grandchildren. He was always there for us no matter what time of day or night. Dad and Mom worked hard as a couple, and had a traditional family, where the mother was the housewife and took care of the home and the children, and the father was the provider and leader of the family. Dad was brought up and lived in hard times—beginning with the Depression, followed by the World War II era, and then the period after World War II. This entire period was occupied by men and women who were building this country into the strong country that it is today. Dad’s work-ethic was unbelievable! He was very strong-willed. I believe all who knew Dad would say that he was the hardest working man they ever met. Dad served in the U.S. Army as a soldier for two years. After that, he served in the United States Merchant Marines, as a seaman, for two years. Dad was a strong advocate of education. He enrolled his children in the Catholic School. He encouraged us and instilled in us the importance of getting a higher education. He was also a great teacher. He taught each of us integrity, work-ethic, honesty, perseverance, loyalty, he believed in giving your word and keeping it, and that the quality of your work was your signature and, above all, to have God in your life. He was a principled man! His children and grandchildren were privileged to observe Dad and learn many things from his example especially that your character matters. Dad spent long days working in the sun—he loved the sun; like at his union carpenter’s job, running his crews all day or on his farm. Dad was a member of the Carpenters Local Union #1353. Four years ago, in 2013, Dad was recognized by the union, with his family present at his side. He was recognized at a ceremony at the Carpenters Union Hall in Albuquerque as its 3rd longest serving union member at that time, with 60 years in the union. In his work, many times he was the Foreman of a crew and at times he was the Superintendent of a job, as he was in 1969, when he led the building of the Cochiti Dam Tower. As the in-charge, he hired over half of the crew that comprised that job, approximately 18, from Velarde, Lyden and the Espanola area. He provided work for them in very trying employment times. These men never forgot what Dad did for them. They always shared their stories about Dad with us and what he meant to them and their families and always sent their best wishes to Dad. They always had the utmost respect for Dad. Dad knew how to get the most out of people. He delivered because he knew how to measure people and how to treat people with respect. He never lacked for work for himself. Even in the 1960s when jobs were scarce in the local area, bosses would call him immediately because they knew he was so skilled and would add much to their company and would get the job done. Dad was very passionate about helping people in his northern New Mexico community. As one example, I recall one time, he went to work at an elderly woman’s house in Velarde. Dad worked late into the night at her home, for 5 hours every night, Monday through Friday, after his day union job, and then two full days during the weekends to complete a remodel job, that he promised to finish quickly. He charged these elderly people so little, because he knew they could not afford it. A big part of him wanted them to feel good about their home, so they could be proud of their new remodeled kitchen, their new bathroom, their new living room, as the case may be. We, his helpers, were not as enthused as he was, because we were sacrificing our employment, doing yardwork at our neighbors, and missing out on a few dollars for the week. Dad, seeing that we were pouting would point up to heaven and touch his eyes after pointing to heaven, telling us, his children, with his gestures without uttering one word, “God’s looking, he sees everything.” He was letting us know that God would not forget what we had done for the nice lady. Dad not only took his sons to these small jobs, as his helpers, but also took his daughters occasionally, when his sons were unavailable. We all learned the word “Anticipate” at a very young age. He instructed us to get in his head and determine what tool or piece of material he was going to need next. We learned to have the next handful of nails ready for him, with all the heads of the nails facing the same direction, or a saw or a screwdriver. By anticipating what he needed next, we became very efficient, and made much progress. We became very good at “Anticipating” and consequently we made a great team. We went home at 10:30 at night, at the end of a long night, very satisfied with the progress that was made. In the end, Dad was not only our FIRST Mentor, but as our careers progressed, we realized that he had been our BEST Mentor! Dad farmed all his life. People would comment that he had a green thumb. If you visited Mom and Dad, and they took you for a walk to show you their beautiful farm and their flower garden you would agree. Dad loved to put seeds into the ground every spring, of all types of vegetables, including chile and sweet corn. He loved to see those seeds sprout into plants, so he could irrigate them, cultivate them and let the sun do its work, and finally harvest his plentiful crop in late summer and early fall. He embraced the annual cycle of life—which bore him a beautiful crop, year after year. Mom and Dad took their fruit and vegetables to sell at the Los Alamos Farmer’s Market at first and later to Santa Fe Farmer’s Market. They did this for over 25 years. They enjoyed meeting new people and making many-many new friends; other growers, as well as customers. Dad had a giving heart. He knew how hard it had been for him to provide for his large family, so he priced his fruit and vegetables reasonably and would even give families with children extra fruit and vegetables, as he wanted to help them provide for their families. Of course, we at home always ate what he grew; great fresh vegetables and fruit. The savings, from us eating what he grew, cut some on the weekly grocery bill, especially since he was the lone wage earner in the family. Dad always had a sense of adventure, in everything he did—whether it was traveling, camping, fishing, hunting or going to the forest for firewood or Christmas Trees in early December. Whoever was living at home always wanted to jump in the truck with him on all these outings. He made things fun!! When some of us were away, we always wished we had not missed the last outing. The stories and the photos and the memories of these trips will now have to sustain us! Dad was a great fisherman. He enjoyed fishing in the rivers, lakes and in the ocean. He went bait fishing, fly fishing, snagging, ice fishing and also deep sea fishing in the San Francisco Bay. He always took us with him. Dad had many of the prize fish that he caught mounted and they now hang in his home and in his children’s homes. All of us will miss Dad tremendously, but no one will miss Dad like Mom---her partner of 67 years, a life that encompassed the birth of nine healthy children, cultivating each one of them— through tough times and good times, the many-many birthdays, the times of prayer that we all shared, accompanied by our neighbors, kneeling down in Mom’s and Dad’s living room, when Dad first faced a life-threatening cancer 33 years ago, in 1984. I recall when Dad got the cancer, he told me he wanted to live long enough to get his two youngest, who were still at home, my brother Ray and sister Janice, out of school---I presumed out of college. Today, Ray and Janice are the only two in our family who not only earned Bachelor Degrees, but Masters Degrees as well! God Blessed Dad and granted him his wish— and then some!! Four years ago, Mom and Dad lost their first child, our sister Martha. Now we also lose Dad, in the mortal way. We will now have his spirit with us, as we have Martha’s spirit, and Dad will always be with us. To Dad I say: We were always proud of you Dad! Don’t worry Dad; Mom will be taken care of Dad!! We will take care of her and we will always be with her. You taught us well Dad---Don’t worry!! Now that you are no longer physically here, we will bring your crop in, we will fix the roof when it needs fixing, we will fix the water faucets and replace them when they need replacing. Yes, Dad, you taught us well! You taught us that faith was most important, and that love, work-ethic, and loyalty was most important also! Don’t worry Dad, you did a Great Job!! We love you Dad! We will miss you and think of you every single day Dad! God Bless You
Always Dad!
Thank You
The family of Eloy G. Romero extends its sincere gratitude to relatives, neighbors and friends for visiting with Eloy and the family during this past year and for being at our side during our hardship these past weeks after Eloy passed away.
Special thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Fred and Roberta Velarde for praying the Rosary on Monday Night, August 28. Also, thank you Jennifer Navarrete for the beautiful memorial video that you created of Eloy, which was played for all immediately following the Rosary. We will treasure and cherish it for all time! We especially thank all of you who accompanied us at the Rosary.
We thank Reverend Adam Lee Ortega y Ortiz for officiating the Mass of the Resurrection on Tuesday Morning, August 29, at St. Francis Cathedral in Santa Fe. We thank Pat & Kerrie Sena for the beautiful music that you shared with us at Eloy’s Memorial Mass. We thank Eloy’s Granddaughters, who performed the Readings and who acted as the Eucharistic Gift Bearers. We also thank Eloy’s Grandsons, who carried Eloy’s casket, and Eloy’s son, Alvan, for Eulogizing Eloy in such a touching way. We thank Greg Dart of Forms Plus for printing the Mass of the Resurrection Program. Thank you for your excellent gift. And most of all, we want to thank all of you who accompanied us at the Mass at the Cathedral.
We thank Deacon Ted Branch for conducting the Graveside Services at the Santa Fe National Cemetery. We also thank State Bugler, Alfred Bourguet, who drove in from Albuquerque and played Taps at Eloy’s interment at the Santa Fe National Cemetery, honoring Eloy for his military service.
We also thank all of you that spent the afternoon with us at St. Anne’s Parish Hall the day of the burial. It was good to see so many of you and to visit with you over a meal, and afterwards as well. You all made our day better.
Not to be forgotten, we thank the many of you who brought us food trays, other food items, flowers, cards, monetary gifts and those who called or visited us at our home as you expressed your condolences. We thank all of you who posted your condolences on Eloy’s webpage on the DeVargas Funeral Home webpage. We also thank the many of you that have offered masses and novenas for Eloy and the family. We are also mindful of thanking all of mom’s and dad’s close friends, who will continue to visit mom and our family.
Thank you Adrian (Martinez) for the beautiful oil painting, that you completed days before, of Eloy and Bernice walking on their farm, which was displayed at the Rosary. Also, thank you Celso Archuleta (Floral Expressions) for the beautiful floral arrangements that you made especially for Eloy. They were amazing.
Finally, we wish to thank the DeVargas’ Funeral Home & Crematory Staff for your kindness and the professional care in how you tended to all aspects of the funeral arrangements. The arrangements were carried out with great care and honor, and they were carried out meticulously.
Thank You----The Eloy G. Romero Family
Years ago, he served as a Mayórdomo of Our Lady of Guadalupé Church in Velarde. Besides doing weekly maintenance during his term and decorating the church for Lent, Easter, Christmas and other Holy Days, he, with his sons helping him, replaced the large worn-out front doors of the church with customized doors, and he also replaced the cross on top of the bell tower and re-roofed the sacristy of the church. At that time, he said that his work was his gift to his church.
He loved to use his various skills and intelligence to help people. He helped many people in his community, especially the elderly, who could not afford a master carpenter. He maintained a humble respect for them, remodeling their kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms and replacing their gabled roofs. He enjoyed seeing the joy in their faces when the job was complete. He would ask for a cup of coffee in mid-afternoon, sitting down and enjoyed visiting with his customers, the homeowners, for 20 minutes; that would be sufficient compensation for him.
The core of his essence was praying to God and working. Consequently, he instituted a strong religious faith and work-ethic in his children. He primarily worked in heavy-duty commercial construction, serving as the Carpenter Foreman many times, including during the building of the Cochiti Dam Intake Tower and Spillway. He worked at his craft in the building of the Abiquiu Dam, the Loretto Inn and Spa Resort, many concrete buildings in Los Alamos and Santa Fe and steel and concrete bridges across roadways in New Mexico.
He served in the United States Army during the WW II era and later in the United States Merchant Marines. He received the WW II Victory Medal.
He retired as a union carpenter from the Carpenter’s Local Union #1353. In 2013, he was recognized, with his family present at his side, at a ceremony at the Carpenter’s Union Hall in Albuquerque as its third longest serving union member at that time, completing 60 years in the union.
He was also a farmer. He farmed his land for over 50 years, growing several types of chile, sweet corn, white corn, tomatoes, squash, green beans, peas, watermelons, melons and every variety of local fruit, including apples, peaches, nectarines, pears, plums, grapes, and cherries. He tended to his garden as late as last week, irrigating and spraying his vegetables, chile, corn and watermelons and even picking a few chile peppers. His crop continues to grow and flourish.
Eloy and his wife, Bernice, are co-founding farmers at the Santa Fe Farmer’s Market where they sold their vegetables and fruit to their very loyal customers over the past 20 years. They were honored by the Santa Fe Farmer’s Market Board of Directors with the inscription and placement of one of the red bricks that adorn the walking path at the Farmer’s Market with their names “Eloy and Bernice” and “Romero’s Farm” inscribed.
Eloy especially loved spending his time outdoors; fishing, hunting and camping, having fished the many waters in New Mexico, Colorado, Alaska and many times with his nephews in the San Francisco Bay area. He also enjoyed hunting elk, deer, antelope and oryx. He either had his wife, Bernice, and his sons with him on his outings and sometimes his daughters and their spouses, some of his grandchildren, as well as close friends. He had many of the prize fish that he caught mounted. Those beautiful mounts now reside in game rooms or family rooms of his children. He and his wife, Bernice, also enjoyed traveling with their children to such places as Australia, Alaska, Hawaii, Niagara Falls, New York City, Washington, D.C., South Bend, Indiana (Notre Dame), the Florida area, San Diego, San Francisco, San Antonio, Nashville, Elvis Presley’s Graceland in Memphis and took a Mexican Riviera Cruise and an Alaskan Cruise on the Holland Statendam and a Caribbean Cruise to the Virgin Islands, Grand Cayman Islands and Cozumal.
Surviving him are his wife of 67 years, Bernice, his children, Alvan (Martha Torrez), Sandra (Liz) Sandoval (Victor), Debbie Faculjak (Paul), Carol Lutz (husband Daniel passed away), Kevin (Renee), Daniel Anthony (Lisa), Ray (Corina) and Janice Martinez (Adrian). Also surviving him are his son-in-law, Steve Alire, brother, Paul of Albuquerque and his sister, Flora Ortiz of Truth or Consequences, grandchildren Jennifer, Michelle, Brandy, April, Sara, Cindy, Matthew, Eloy, Brian, Ashley, Brittany, Daniel, Ricky, Ronnie, Daniel, Dawnica, Kateri, Darian, Jarryd, Katrina (LaTanya), Melissa, Lindsey, Kelsey, Ray, Jeremy, Kaitlyn, Lana and Angél, 28 great-grandchildren and many nieces, nephews and several cousins.
Public visitation will begin on Monday, August 28, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. in the Sangre de Cristo Chapel of DeVargas Funeral Home & Crematory, with a rosary to be recited at 7:00 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday, August 29, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Francis Cathedral in Santa Fe with the burial following at the Santa Fe National Cemetery at 12:45 p.m. with full military honors. Serving the family as pallbearers will be Ray Romero, Jeremy Romero, Daniel Romero, Matthew Sandoval, Eloy Faculjak, Ricky Quinones, Darian Romero and Angél Martinez, honorary pallbearers are all his other grandsons and granddaughters. The Eulogy will be delivered by one of his children. The family has entrusted the care of their loved one to the DeVargas Funeral Home and Crematory of the Española Valley.
Eulogy:
As Delivered by Alvan Eloy Romero
At St. Francis Cathedral
Santa Fe, New Mexico
On August 29, 2017
First of all, I want to thank all of you that are here this morning, accompanying us, and I also want to thank all those who have accompanied Mom and our family during this very painful week. We will forever remember all of you. I have a few minutes this morning to eulogize Dad. I have some really good stories about Dad that I wish I could have shared with you, that you would have enjoyed. The stories would have given you a clearer glimpse of dad’s personality and how intelligent he was, but I won’t have the time, perhaps I can share some of those stories with you at a later time. Thank you Father Adam for giving me this time. What could anyone possibly say in a few minutes to encapsulate Dad’s 90 years of life! Obviously, I know that is impossible. I will say that, above all, Dad believed in God! His strong belief and faith in God gave him all the confidence in the world that things would always work out for him and his family, regardless of how things might look at the time. He, like his parents, prayed his entire life and was a churchgoing Catholic. His strong faith in God was passed on to all his children and grandchildren. What an unforgettable life Dad had! He was born on August 31, 1927 in Velarde to Flavio and Cirila Romero. He came from a close-knit Catholic family of nine children. Of his nine brothers and sisters, only Uncle Paul, who is with us here today, and Aunt Flora, who will be 96 years old this October, and cannot travel, remain with us now. Dad and Mom were married on April 22, 1950. They had nine children together. They celebrated 67 years together this past spring. They were inseparable and shared many wonderful years together with so many memories. They were true partners and took care of one another until the end. Dad was an extremely caring and compassionate man. He dedicated his entire life to his family; his wife, children and grandchildren. He was always there for us no matter what time of day or night. Dad and Mom worked hard as a couple, and had a traditional family, where the mother was the housewife and took care of the home and the children, and the father was the provider and leader of the family. Dad was brought up and lived in hard times—beginning with the Depression, followed by the World War II era, and then the period after World War II. This entire period was occupied by men and women who were building this country into the strong country that it is today. Dad’s work-ethic was unbelievable! He was very strong-willed. I believe all who knew Dad would say that he was the hardest working man they ever met. Dad served in the U.S. Army as a soldier for two years. After that, he served in the United States Merchant Marines, as a seaman, for two years. Dad was a strong advocate of education. He enrolled his children in the Catholic School. He encouraged us and instilled in us the importance of getting a higher education. He was also a great teacher. He taught each of us integrity, work-ethic, honesty, perseverance, loyalty, he believed in giving your word and keeping it, and that the quality of your work was your signature and, above all, to have God in your life. He was a principled man! His children and grandchildren were privileged to observe Dad and learn many things from his example especially that your character matters. Dad spent long days working in the sun—he loved the sun; like at his union carpenter’s job, running his crews all day or on his farm. Dad was a member of the Carpenters Local Union #1353. Four years ago, in 2013, Dad was recognized by the union, with his family present at his side. He was recognized at a ceremony at the Carpenters Union Hall in Albuquerque as its 3rd longest serving union member at that time, with 60 years in the union. In his work, many times he was the Foreman of a crew and at times he was the Superintendent of a job, as he was in 1969, when he led the building of the Cochiti Dam Tower. As the in-charge, he hired over half of the crew that comprised that job, approximately 18, from Velarde, Lyden and the Espanola area. He provided work for them in very trying employment times. These men never forgot what Dad did for them. They always shared their stories about Dad with us and what he meant to them and their families and always sent their best wishes to Dad. They always had the utmost respect for Dad. Dad knew how to get the most out of people. He delivered because he knew how to measure people and how to treat people with respect. He never lacked for work for himself. Even in the 1960s when jobs were scarce in the local area, bosses would call him immediately because they knew he was so skilled and would add much to their company and would get the job done. Dad was very passionate about helping people in his northern New Mexico community. As one example, I recall one time, he went to work at an elderly woman’s house in Velarde. Dad worked late into the night at her home, for 5 hours every night, Monday through Friday, after his day union job, and then two full days during the weekends to complete a remodel job, that he promised to finish quickly. He charged these elderly people so little, because he knew they could not afford it. A big part of him wanted them to feel good about their home, so they could be proud of their new remodeled kitchen, their new bathroom, their new living room, as the case may be. We, his helpers, were not as enthused as he was, because we were sacrificing our employment, doing yardwork at our neighbors, and missing out on a few dollars for the week. Dad, seeing that we were pouting would point up to heaven and touch his eyes after pointing to heaven, telling us, his children, with his gestures without uttering one word, “God’s looking, he sees everything.” He was letting us know that God would not forget what we had done for the nice lady. Dad not only took his sons to these small jobs, as his helpers, but also took his daughters occasionally, when his sons were unavailable. We all learned the word “Anticipate” at a very young age. He instructed us to get in his head and determine what tool or piece of material he was going to need next. We learned to have the next handful of nails ready for him, with all the heads of the nails facing the same direction, or a saw or a screwdriver. By anticipating what he needed next, we became very efficient, and made much progress. We became very good at “Anticipating” and consequently we made a great team. We went home at 10:30 at night, at the end of a long night, very satisfied with the progress that was made. In the end, Dad was not only our FIRST Mentor, but as our careers progressed, we realized that he had been our BEST Mentor! Dad farmed all his life. People would comment that he had a green thumb. If you visited Mom and Dad, and they took you for a walk to show you their beautiful farm and their flower garden you would agree. Dad loved to put seeds into the ground every spring, of all types of vegetables, including chile and sweet corn. He loved to see those seeds sprout into plants, so he could irrigate them, cultivate them and let the sun do its work, and finally harvest his plentiful crop in late summer and early fall. He embraced the annual cycle of life—which bore him a beautiful crop, year after year. Mom and Dad took their fruit and vegetables to sell at the Los Alamos Farmer’s Market at first and later to Santa Fe Farmer’s Market. They did this for over 25 years. They enjoyed meeting new people and making many-many new friends; other growers, as well as customers. Dad had a giving heart. He knew how hard it had been for him to provide for his large family, so he priced his fruit and vegetables reasonably and would even give families with children extra fruit and vegetables, as he wanted to help them provide for their families. Of course, we at home always ate what he grew; great fresh vegetables and fruit. The savings, from us eating what he grew, cut some on the weekly grocery bill, especially since he was the lone wage earner in the family. Dad always had a sense of adventure, in everything he did—whether it was traveling, camping, fishing, hunting or going to the forest for firewood or Christmas Trees in early December. Whoever was living at home always wanted to jump in the truck with him on all these outings. He made things fun!! When some of us were away, we always wished we had not missed the last outing. The stories and the photos and the memories of these trips will now have to sustain us! Dad was a great fisherman. He enjoyed fishing in the rivers, lakes and in the ocean. He went bait fishing, fly fishing, snagging, ice fishing and also deep sea fishing in the San Francisco Bay. He always took us with him. Dad had many of the prize fish that he caught mounted and they now hang in his home and in his children’s homes. All of us will miss Dad tremendously, but no one will miss Dad like Mom---her partner of 67 years, a life that encompassed the birth of nine healthy children, cultivating each one of them— through tough times and good times, the many-many birthdays, the times of prayer that we all shared, accompanied by our neighbors, kneeling down in Mom’s and Dad’s living room, when Dad first faced a life-threatening cancer 33 years ago, in 1984. I recall when Dad got the cancer, he told me he wanted to live long enough to get his two youngest, who were still at home, my brother Ray and sister Janice, out of school---I presumed out of college. Today, Ray and Janice are the only two in our family who not only earned Bachelor Degrees, but Masters Degrees as well! God Blessed Dad and granted him his wish— and then some!! Four years ago, Mom and Dad lost their first child, our sister Martha. Now we also lose Dad, in the mortal way. We will now have his spirit with us, as we have Martha’s spirit, and Dad will always be with us. To Dad I say: We were always proud of you Dad! Don’t worry Dad; Mom will be taken care of Dad!! We will take care of her and we will always be with her. You taught us well Dad---Don’t worry!! Now that you are no longer physically here, we will bring your crop in, we will fix the roof when it needs fixing, we will fix the water faucets and replace them when they need replacing. Yes, Dad, you taught us well! You taught us that faith was most important, and that love, work-ethic, and loyalty was most important also! Don’t worry Dad, you did a Great Job!! We love you Dad! We will miss you and think of you every single day Dad! God Bless You
Always Dad!
Thank You
The family of Eloy G. Romero extends its sincere gratitude to relatives, neighbors and friends for visiting with Eloy and the family during this past year and for being at our side during our hardship these past weeks after Eloy passed away.
Special thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Fred and Roberta Velarde for praying the Rosary on Monday Night, August 28. Also, thank you Jennifer Navarrete for the beautiful memorial video that you created of Eloy, which was played for all immediately following the Rosary. We will treasure and cherish it for all time! We especially thank all of you who accompanied us at the Rosary.
We thank Reverend Adam Lee Ortega y Ortiz for officiating the Mass of the Resurrection on Tuesday Morning, August 29, at St. Francis Cathedral in Santa Fe. We thank Pat & Kerrie Sena for the beautiful music that you shared with us at Eloy’s Memorial Mass. We thank Eloy’s Granddaughters, who performed the Readings and who acted as the Eucharistic Gift Bearers. We also thank Eloy’s Grandsons, who carried Eloy’s casket, and Eloy’s son, Alvan, for Eulogizing Eloy in such a touching way. We thank Greg Dart of Forms Plus for printing the Mass of the Resurrection Program. Thank you for your excellent gift. And most of all, we want to thank all of you who accompanied us at the Mass at the Cathedral.
We thank Deacon Ted Branch for conducting the Graveside Services at the Santa Fe National Cemetery. We also thank State Bugler, Alfred Bourguet, who drove in from Albuquerque and played Taps at Eloy’s interment at the Santa Fe National Cemetery, honoring Eloy for his military service.
We also thank all of you that spent the afternoon with us at St. Anne’s Parish Hall the day of the burial. It was good to see so many of you and to visit with you over a meal, and afterwards as well. You all made our day better.
Not to be forgotten, we thank the many of you who brought us food trays, other food items, flowers, cards, monetary gifts and those who called or visited us at our home as you expressed your condolences. We thank all of you who posted your condolences on Eloy’s webpage on the DeVargas Funeral Home webpage. We also thank the many of you that have offered masses and novenas for Eloy and the family. We are also mindful of thanking all of mom’s and dad’s close friends, who will continue to visit mom and our family.
Thank you Adrian (Martinez) for the beautiful oil painting, that you completed days before, of Eloy and Bernice walking on their farm, which was displayed at the Rosary. Also, thank you Celso Archuleta (Floral Expressions) for the beautiful floral arrangements that you made especially for Eloy. They were amazing.
Finally, we wish to thank the DeVargas’ Funeral Home & Crematory Staff for your kindness and the professional care in how you tended to all aspects of the funeral arrangements. The arrangements were carried out with great care and honor, and they were carried out meticulously.
Thank You----The Eloy G. Romero Family
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