Amalia Baca Revell

It is with heavy hearts that we announce Amalia Baca Revell, affectionately known to her friends and family as “Molly” passed away on Monday, June 26, 2023, at 100 years young.

Amalia was preceded in death by her children Patricia and Ronnie.

She is survived by her daughters: Louise, Linda, Idell, Daryl, Sylvia, 17 grandchildren and many great grandchildren. All of their pictures adorned the walls of her apartment.

Amalia was born August 6, 1922, to Delfina and Maximilliano Baca in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Amalia lived on the corner of Broadway and Bell with her brothers: Max H., Max C. and John Baca. Her brother Leonardo and sisters Rebecca and Andrea died in infancy. Her father owned a wood yard and worked for the Atichson, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad Shops – which she could see from her home.  She learned how to drive on a Ford Model-A that her father used to transport and deliver wood that they harvested at Carlito Springs. Her companions when her father was working were the turkeys that they kept in the yard and her beloved dog. Her brother Max H. served in the Army during WWI at the tender age of 15, and her brother Max C. died over in India in a B29 Bomber while making a run to resupply China during WWII. All of Amalia's siblings left this world long ago and she was left in her beloved Albuquerque. Amaila witnessed the passing of time in New Mexico, from a small little railroad outpost to the booming city it is today. She worked at a drugstore on Broadway as a teenager (the building still stands) and was always proud of her work at the entrance booth during the annual New Mexico State Fair. She loved counting the coins and rolling them in to tubes after her shift. Even in her twilight years, she would save all the spare change until she had enough to roll and take to the bank.

A charmer, Amalia was loved by everyone who met her. Her beauty was defined by a gorgeous set of dimples when she smiled at you. A long-standing member American Legion Women’s Auxiliary Post 99 she was known to throw a few back with her fellow Legionnaires, sometimes with her grandchildren in tow, who fondly reminisce about the cherry cokes, and they would drink and Veterans who would give them change to play pool. Every time she visited the Legion, she was greeted like a rock star. She was a long-time devoted member of St. Bernadette’s Catholic Church, and in her later years, made thousands of rosaries for the Rosary Guild who then distributed them worldwide. They were beautiful works of art, and despite her diminishing eyesight, she would crimp, curl and bead them in to the form of devotion in which five decades of Hail Mary’s are repeated, each decade preceded by an Our Father and followed by a Glory Be. It was her contribution and testimony to her faith.

A decade long Senior Member of Manzano Mesa Multicultural Center, she would be transported in a city van to the meal site, where she would commune with other seniors – have coffee and lunch and then return home by 1:00pm where she never missed her novella “The Young and the Restless.”  She was a friend to everyone, and everyone was her friend in return. In her later years, she had two helpers, Maria and Antoinette, who helped her live independently despite her advancing age.

Amalia didn’t have much of an education, because there was no emphasis for women getting an education at the time, but she did attend Albuquerque High School where she fondly remembered being a part of the girls’ basketball team, a sport for which she had a lifelong love. She was smart, well versed, and well-spoken in English and Spanish. Her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren went on to achieve great careers, higher education, and serve in the military. To each and every one she would mark significant achievements with a $2.00 bill, a small green GI Joe army man or perhaps a bag of M & M’s – small gestures, that, in their simplicity had profound, endearing, memorable meaning to those who love her.

In her treasure trove of memorabilia, there are photos of Amalia standing in front of a tree at an apartment on Morris Street with every one of her children and grandchildren at some point in their lives, we expect that each family member will reminisce and embrace the loving memory of who our mother was – a simple Catholic Hispanic Native New Mexican, with a love of green chile and tortillas, red enchiladas, tamales from Modelo’s, an occasional platter of shrimp, a cold beer and a zest for life that sustained her for 100 years on this earth.

May you rest in peace Amalia and may you meet your maker with open arms in eternal life.

Amalia's will be laid to rest on Thursday, June 29, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. at Mount Calvary Cemetery located at 1900 Edith Blvd NE Albuquerque, NM 87102.

In lieu of flowers the family asks that a donation be made in Amalia's honor to St. Bernadette Catholic Church Rosary Guild.