Daily Times from Farmington, New Mexico • A3

AZTEC Mary Jo (MJ) Ward passed away at the age of 66 to be with her Savior on Tuesday, Sep- tember 14, 2021. She was born on July 13, 1955, in Bloomfield, to Eugene and Della Mon- tano. She is survived by her husband; Marty Ward, daughter; Alisha (Cory) Tanner, son; Sean Wangenheim, daughter; Brittanny (AJ) Godfrey, granddaughter; Torince Tanner, and grandsons; Ryis andDeakenGodfrey, sister, Adriana (Juan) Hernandez, and brother; Michael Montano. MJ never met a stranger. She loved Jesus with all her heart.

Her grandchildren were the light of her life. She had a true talent for capturing beauty with her photography. She always helped others before herself. She loved everyone with everything she had.Her favorite pastime was camping with her husband and all the adventures she got to experience to enjoymore of cre- ation. She will be greatly missed, beyond words.

A celebration of her life will be at 9 a.m.Mon- day, September 27, 2021 at Flora Vista Baptist Church at 23 County Road 3500 in Flora Vista, NM.Following the service, at approximately 10:30 a.m., family and friends will be meeting at Aztec Riverside Park near the bridge to sharememories and stories in the beautiful nature setting that MJ loved. favorite color is red. In celebration of her life, invited to wear red in her honor. Mary Jo Ward September 28, 1937 September 14, 2021 DonaldA.Paul 83, of Grand peacefully in his home surrounded by love and the presence of his family members. Donald, was the son of the late Domingo Paul and late Rose Barajas.

He was born in Ignacio Colorado and was the old- est of 13 Children. He had 8 brothers and 4 sisters. His father passed away when he was a young child, he was raised by his Vasquez whom he loved dearly and his late grandmother Virginia Vasquez. Donald met the love of his life Esther Lorraine Montoya in Durango Colorado, the two lovebirds snuck off and eloped on February 25th, 1957, in Aztec, NM. They were married for 58 years until Esther passed away on May 13, 2015.When Esther left this earth, she took a piece of heart with her.

Donald was a construction worker for most of his life, he was a skilled carpenter, he also worked for PNM and was a Carpenters Local 1319 union hall member. He was a great provider for his family and was full of ener- gy. He was a very strong-willed man who taught his family a strong work ethic and instilled respect. He loved spending time with and being around his family, they meant everything to him. Some of his favorite past times include camping, fishing, playing poker and shooting pool, he loved old cars and oldies music.He loved to watch boxing, he was a coach and taught his sons boxing.

Donald was the loving and proud father of 9 children. He is proceeded in death by his oldest son Dennis Paul and grand daughter Kara Lopez. He leaves behind 5 daughters and 3 sons. Elizabeth Tafoya (Gus), Lenard Paul (Nancy), Louis Paul, Bernice aka Paula Paul, Cynthia Castaneda (Nico), Lorraine Enriquez, Eric aka Bo Paul, Raeneitta Tate (Joseph). He also leaves behind 24 grand children, 24 great grand children and 1 great great grand child.

Don is proceeded in death by his brothers Richard Paul (Rosie), Pablo Paul (Julie), and is survived by his other siblings, Leslie aka Les Paul, Johnny aka Tob Paul (Lena), Louise Duran (Stan Jensen), Leroy Silva Dinette (Tom), Sharon Aldecoa, Dora Diaz (Guillermo), Lonnie Martinez (Linda), Michael Martinez, Lupito Barajas, and one brother in-law David Montoya (Mary). All friends and family are invited to join in a Memorial service and cele- bration to honor life on Saturday the 25th of September at Jubilee Family Church located at 483 30 RoadGrand 81504 at there will be a luncheon immediately afterwards the family would love to visit and share fondmemories. Arrangements are being handled by Legacy Funeral Home legacyfuneralhomegj.com (970)609-2233 Donald Albert Paul BLOOMFIELD Benjamin PaulMartinez (Benjie) was born July 21, 1960 in and passed away in the age of 61 on Septem- ber 17, 2021.He was born to and preceded in death by his parents Higinio andVirginiaMartinez.He is also preceded in death by his sons, Geno Martinez and Trent Platero, brothers Richard Archuleta and Tony Trujillo, and sisterVangieMontoya.He is sur- vived by his beloved his children: Afften Gallegos (Juan), Bernadette Enriquez (Fer- (Kat), BenjaminMartinez (Matraca), Anthony Martinez (Macey), Brandon Platero (Kim) and Grandchildren: Geno, Jacob, Ryker, Meadow, Allison, Kashlynn, Kyros, Elias, Oaklan Ayden. He is also survived by his siblings: Gloria Phillips (Darrell), Patsy Alcon (Michael), RupertMartinez (Barbara), JimmyMartinez (Julia), Millie Martinez (Ray) and Higinio Martinez (Valerie), numerous nieces, nephews, godchildren, uncles, aunts, cousins and dear friends. Benjie graduated from Escalante High School in 1979 and went straight to Farmington to work for PNM.

He retired after 34 years as a journey- man-welder-mechanic. He went on to work for Williams and Harvest Midstream. He loved his work andmademany friends he Benjie loved his family first and foremost, and he especially loved his grandkids. He found joy in coaching his boys as well as many others in the community. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping, and being on the lake.

You could always find Benjie running the cameras, taking videos and pictures of every family event and precious moment. Music was life. He took pride in being the DJ, always finding new music for everyone to enjoy. One of his greatest passions was playing guitars with his brothers and dad. Above all, Benjie loved spending time with all those he loved.

He wasmeticulous with everything he owned. His vehicles were spotless, his house vacuumed with straight lines and perfectly groomed lawns with not a stray blade of grass to be found. Benjie was an amazing host. He was always ready for happy hour with a cold beer, margarita his famous hot salsa. He was the perfect gentleman, dressed to impress with his black cowboy hat, leather vest and boots.

Though we will miss him, we look forward to his warm welcome in heaven. We would like to thank everyone for the prayers, support and encour- agement in the past nine months. Benjie was grateful for every one of you. Celebration of Life Service to be held on Saturday, September 25th 10:00 am at The Oasis Church 1601 N. Dustin Farmington.

Reception following TBA at the service. A very special thanks to the Farmington Funeral Home staff for every- thing they have done. Benjamin P. Martinez Age 47. Stephanie Vig- il passed away peacefully at Four Corners Nursing Facility on September 17, 2021.

She was pro- ceeded in death by her brother Gerald Vigil, grandmothers Flora Bea Augustine Ruby Vigil, grandfathers JumboNez Kee Vigil. Stephanie was born February 28, 1974 to parents Jerry Susie Vigil. Stephanie later moved to Grand CO but moved to Fort Collins, CO the last few years of her life, the last 2months of her life shemade her way back to Farmington, NM. Stephanie is survived by her parents Jerry Susie Vigil (Farmington, NM) her sisters Audrey Barzee (Blackfoot, ID) Suzanna Ortega (Farm- ington) her brothers GaryVigil(Allison) (Chica- go, IL) Christopher Vigil (Lincoln, NB) her sons Benjamin Elijah Wiggins (Farmington, NM) Stephanie was a member of the Navajo Na- tion, her interest were drawing, writing poems and dancing. She loved wolves and panthers.

She loved her family very much always teasing and joking with them and would always put others before herself. She would always tell her family and friends LOVE THEIR a motto she lived by until the very end. Services for the family is pending. Donations are accepted on GoFundMe or Venmo: GoFundMe: Venmo Stephanie Vigil Obituaries Those we love go away, they walk beside us every unseen, unheard, but always near, still loved, still missed and very dear. memories WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 3A she said.

Those who interested in spend- ing that much money can still buy books at the regular price $2 for hard-cover books and $1 for paperbacks. The sale also features other library materials such as CDs and periodicals. The money raised from the sale usually somewhere between $20,000 and $30,000 goes to the Farmington Public Library Foundation, which spends the money to buy T-shirts for partici- pants in the summer reading program. a nice reward for kids to do the program every she said. it was nice to see our numbers up this sum- In the past, the sale has taken place over several days, but library are experimenting with a two-day sale this year, hoping that they can move more books in a shorter period.

It also has been moved from the Multipurpose Room to the tents in the parking lot. The goal is to make the sale as as possible and limit the exposure of shop- pers and library members to each other because of the pandemic. McPheeters is counting on regular li- brary patrons to support the event, and she believes there is some pent-up de- mand after the event was called last year. missed it a she said. had a lot of questions about it, but we felt like it be safe enough.

This year, it will be covered in tents, but they will have open sides. And asking everybody to just be cautious, be Anyone interested in volunteering during the sale is asked to call Amanda Wussow at 505-566-2210. For more in- formation about the sale, visit infoway.org. Mike Easterling can be reached at 505- 564-4610 or times.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription.

Library Continued from Page 1A Sharon Blue Eyes of the Farmington Public Library staff sorts books before the annual book sale at the institution in August 2017. The event returns to the library this weekend. DAILY TIMES FILE PHOTO.