Alice J. Duquet

In the words of our mom, “I was born in Magdalena, rolled down the hill to Socorro and lived here ever since.” Alice Caldwell Duquet (nee Alice Josephine Harriet) of Socorro, New Mexico was born in Magdalena, NM on August 19, 1934, and died in Socorro, NM on December 27, 2025 at age 91. She resided in Socorro County her entire life, living as a child with her family on their ranches - Council Rock Ranch (near Magdalena) and at the L/ Ranch east of San Antonio - during summers, and living in Socorro during the school year. She attended Mt Carmel Catholic School through the eighth grade and graduated from Socorro High School in 1953, where she was the Football Homecoming Queen her junior year and in FHA, choir, and band throughout high school.

Alice was known for her beauty, quick wit, kindness, integrity, inner strength, community spirit, and her faith in God. She was a lifelong member of San Miguel Catholic Church, serving on their finance and school boards and running the bank at the annual fiesta for many years. Alice worked at First State Bank for over forty years, starting as a bookkeeper and teller during her senior year of high school, serving as a mentor to many, and retiring as First State Bank’s Executive Vice President in 1993. Before retiring, Alice worked on a mini museum to fill the empty walls that resulted from the bank’s expansion in the late 1980s. With bank funds, she bought pictures of historic Socorro from the Joseph Smith collection, and supplemented these with pictures from anyone who would let the bank copy theirs. She did this so that Socorroans could view and enjoy the history of their community.

Alice married her high school sweetheart Lincoln Caldwell in 1955 and they had three children: Deborah, Kimberly, and Madelyn. Alice and Lincoln remained married for almost twenty-five years until Lincoln’s death in 1980. In 1986, Alice married Robert (Bob) Duquet who had five grown children – Christopher, Mia, Kati, Paul, and Andrew. Through the years, and especially during retirement, Alice and Bob vacationed throughout the United States and Bob’s native Canada, visiting family, friends, and new places.

Alice was proud of her Basque heritage, and passionate about genealogy and researching family history. She loved documenting extended family events by taking lots of photographs to share; in fact, her niece Denise once said, “You haven’t been married, graduated, baptized or confirmed unless Auntie Alice took photographs and made double prints.” She enjoyed gardening and creating a beautiful yard (her wisteria, irises, and rose garden were the envy of many), birdwatching, and crafting beautiful scrapbooks for family and friends. Alice always had a flair for fashion and enjoyed shopping for herself and for others. In retirement, Alice had more time to pursue her interests. She and Bob thoroughly enjoyed babysitting their granddaughter Michaela in her formative years, taking her to preschool, entertaining her with tea parties, games of dress up and “playing school” (where Michaela assigned each player a hilarious role), and storytelling. Alice lunched weekly with her sister Marianne and dear friends Zella, Martina, and Sidney. She also enjoyed much more time and travel with her retired husband Bob to whom she was happily married for nearly twenty-eight years, until his death in 2014.

Alice was preceded in death by her husbands, Lincoln and Bob, her parents Michel and Frances Harriet, daughter Madelyn, and siblings Grace Harriet Bruton, Michel Harriet, Jr., and Marianne Harriet Porter and their spouses. She is survived by many family members who dearly miss her: two daughters, Deb Caldwell (and husband Don Boyd) of Socorro, and Kim Caldwell (and husband Kyle Miller) of Albuquerque; and granddaughter Michaela Mabry of Albuquerque. She is also survived by her loving stepchildren and their spouses and children, many cherished cousins, nieces, nephews, godchildren, and friends.

A memorial rosary will be held on Friday, January 9, 2026 at 1:30 pm at San Miguel Catholic Church in Socorro, to be immediately followed by a memorial funeral mass. In lieu of flowers, please donate in Alice’s memory to her beloved San Miguel Catholic Church (https://www.sdc.org/~smiguel/ ) or a non-profit organization of your choice.