Mary "Lucy" Montoya

Obituary for Mary Lucy LeDoux Montoya Born March 17, 1919, died December 20, 2018 Contrary to the often-repeated adage, sometimes the good live very long lives. Lucy Montoya passed away December 20, 2018 at the age of 99 years, 9 months, and 3 days. Contrary is a word that may not readily come to mind in describing Lucy but knowing where her path started and where it led, contrary is not a surprising description. Lucy was born in Mora County, New Mexico, the eldest child of Julia and Arturo LeDoux. Arturo had recently returned from the Great War where he served in France. Her family, as with many in New Mexico, grew up speaking Spanish but also learned to speak, read, and write in both English and Spanish. Lucy married Epimenio Montoya in December 1933. Lucy and Epi stayed in New Mexico near their families to begin their own family as was common for many in their respective families and in their community and culture. Within 10 years they left New Mexico with their 5 young children, travelling north at the suggestion of Epi's twin brother, Louis, finding their way to Wenatchee, Washington by way of Spearfish, South Dakota and Manson and Chelan, Washington. This relocation to Washington was a huge shift culturally, economically, politically and linguistically. The guiding force through this change was their Catholic faith. It was no coincidence that when they landed in Wenatchee, they found a house 1 block from St. Joseph Catholic Church. In the early years of her life in Wenatchee, Lucy was active in various Catholic organizations for women: Catholic Daughters of America, National Council of Catholic Women, Queen of Angels, the latter of which she was the youngest member and happily shuttled older ladies to and from meetings. In 1958 Lucy gave birth to their last child after 24 years of having children. Lucy worked at Wenoka Warehouse in her forties, another huge shift in her life and the life of her family. After the Wenoka years, the one thing Lucy never left home without, in addition to her rosary, was a hand-carried cooler of Wenatchee apples. Regardless of her destination, Lucy was convinced that good apples could be found only in Wenatchee and considered it her duty to share those apples far and near. When Lucy entered her fifties she took up bowling and bowled actively into her early nineties. Lucy and her daughter, Marian, enjoyed many a morning or afternoon at the bowling alley with their teammates from the Young at Heart and Grandpas and Grandmas. During this same time in her life, Lucy became aware of and active in the lives of many immigrants from Mexico, Central and South America. Lucy and Marian began teaching English to recently arrived Spanish-speakers wherever they could set up a few chairs and a table to spread out books and paper and after, a meal and conversation. After years of letting her native language Spanish go dormant, she embraced the language once again as she embraced the many she met through their shared language. Another great source of pride was her volunteer activity with the Chelan County Democrats. Many years Lucy could be found at the Chelan County Fair handing out flyers for local candidates and chatting with fair-goers. When Barack Obama was elected, she remarked that she was proud to see a Black man elected to the presidency. She hoped to see a woman achieve the same. In a life so long there are many gifts and achievements. She loved her family and always referred to them as kids in spite of the fact that each, with the exception of the youngest, is a Medicare recipient. She loved the many who would stop by her home in the early years for freshly baked bread and a bowl of pinto bean soup or green chili, for homemade fudge at Christmas, for a cup of coffee and a visit in English or Spanish. Her life brought her to a very different part of the country, to becoming a working wife and mother when that was in its cultural beginnings, to the bowling alley, to the work with and for immigrants when government forms just weren't enough. All that said, Lucy was not without her flaws: she didn't like pizza. There were also times of great sadness. With a heavy heart she said good-bye too soon to her sons Jesse, Fred, Patrick, Michael and Ted, and infant daughters Gabriel and Anna Marie; to her husband Epi, her parents, and to brothers Willy and Louis and sister Fabiola. Lucy is survived by sons Lee, Joseph, Richard and Anthony; daughters Nancy Bowman, Marian and Angelina Montoya, son-in-law Ray Lansing and daughter-in-law Elaine Montoya. Lucy is also survived by brothers Arturo and Lee and sisters Maria, Ramona, Margaret and their families. Ever prolific, Lucy has 14 grandchildren, 20 great grandchildren, 2 great great grandchildren and leaves 2 Chihuahuas who followed her everywhere. Nothing pleased Lucy more than knowing people were attending Mass. Please join us for a funeral Mass as we celebrate the long and sometimes contrary life of Mary Lucy LeDoux Montoya on Saturday, March 23 at 9:00 A.M. at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Wenatchee. Commital will be at Wenatchee City Cemetery with lunch to follow at Kuykendall Hall

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Mary "Lucy" Montoya

March 17, 1919 - December 20, 2018