Aurelia “Wally” Preciado Ortiz joined her family at their table in the afterlife on June 26, 2023 at Fort Bayard Medical Center.

At Wally’s request, cremation has taken place.  Recitation of the Holy Rosary will be at Six o’clock in the evening on Thursday, July 27, 2023 at Baca’s Funeral Chapels.  The Funeral Liturgy will be at Ten o’clock in the morning on Friday, July 28, 2023 at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Bayard.  The Rite of Committal and inurnment will follow at St. Vincent De Paul Catholic Cemetery.

She is survived by her daughters, Christina and Marguerite Ortiz; grandsons, Vicente J. Ortiz, Guillermo J. Ortiz, Santiago R. Ortiz; grand-daughter-in-law Kelley and great granddaughters Kadence, Elizabeth and Grace Lucille Ortiz. She is survived by her very special sister-in-law, Mary Helen Preciado

She was preceded in death by her husband, Guillermo; her daughter, Lucille; parents, Jose and Delfina (nee Samaniego) Preciado and all her siblings – Hortencia “Tencha” Apodaca, Celia Ojinaga (Vicente), Clorinda “Cory” Gonzales (Alfonso), Jose “Sonny” Preciado and Raymond Preciado (Norma) as well as many beloved nieces and nephews. 

Wally was born and raised in Santa Rita, N.M.  She lived most of her life in Grant County and loved to attend the Santa Rita reunions to catch up with the community she loved.  She grew up in hard times and her grandsons used to tease her about saving everything, telling her “Grandma, it’s not the depression anymore”.  Despite her meager upbringing, she was the most generous person, always helping out and caring for her family.  She was hard-working.  In addition to raising her children and maintaining her home, she worked for the U.S. Post Office in Santa Rita, babysat, worked at local Snappy Marts in the county and several restaurants in Las Cruces.  When times were hard, she made and sold burritos and empanadas.  She also sold them for fundraising for church and school events.  She once managed to sell raffle tickets to a reluctant gentleman who had just donated a side of beef for said raffle.  She loved holidays and is remembered for the ways in which she made them special, particularly her hand-painted cascarones for Easter.  Wally greatly enjoyed reading and passed that on to her children and grandchildren.  She possessed a gentle nature, but was also strong in the face of adversity, which made her a mother like no other.               
                                                                                  
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