Dolores Chavez

Elma “Dolores” Chavez, 69, of Wagon Wheel, NM, passed away on Wednesday, June 1, 2005 at the home of her daughter, Linda Birmingham,with her loving family beside her after a 17-year battle with cancer. Dolores was born October 1, 1935 in Canton, Georgia to Willie D. and Annie Sue (Maeger) Hightower. She married Raymond Toribio Chavez on February 14, 1955 in Atlanta, GA. They moved from Georgia to New Mexico in 1955. Dolores was well known for helping families, making food and she was famous for her peach cobbler. She was the Moriarty School’s bus driver for Special Education children. The Moriarty kindergarten students knew her as “Aunt Dodi”. She filled the halls with laughter and received hugs and kisses on the cheeks from the students. You could hear her voice in the stores and you had better have time to talk for she was full of joy and ready to share her life stories, whether it was riding bucking horses, holding cows down for branding, or mending fences. Dolores was a fighter, having fought cancer for so long. She was strong until the end. Her faith was strong and she always had time to talk about her Lord and Savior whom she is with now. We will all miss Dolores, but we can keep her alive in our hearts by sharing memories. Dolores is survived by her daughter, Linda Birmingham and her husband Alan of Estancia, NM; grandson Blayne Christopher Birmingham of Estancia, NM; lifelong friends Margaret and Jose O. Garcia of McIntosh, NM, and their daughters Carisima, Micaela, and Isabela; and granddaughter, Bridget Chavez of Moriarty, NM. Other family members include son Ronnie O. Chavez and his wife Alice of Wagon Wheel, NM; daughter Susan Herrera of Santa Fe, NM; granddaughters, Consuelo Chavez and her husband Robert of Moriarty, NM, Vanessa Chavez of Albuquerque, NM, and Alisha Chavez of Wagon Wheel, NM; great-grandsons, Isaac Chavez of Moriarty, NM, Juan Estevan Herrera of Santa Fe, NM, and Louie Chavez of Alamogordo, NM; great-granddaughter Aliyah Chavez of Moriarty, NM; brothers, Bill Hightower and his wife Charlotte, James Hightower, Richard Hightower, and Chuck Hightower and his wife Sue, all of Georgia; a sister, Zara Houston and her husband Henry; and two great-great-grandchildren. Dolores was preceded in death by her parents; her husband Raymond Chavez on May 18, 2004; and twin siblings a brother Jerry Hightower and sister Terry Hightower. There will be a Memorial Service Saturday, June 4, 2005 at 2:00 p.m. at the family home in Wagon Wheel, NM.