Elizabeth Ann Madaras, age 82, passed away peacefully on December 19, 2025, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Known to many as “Ann,” she was also lovingly known as Mom, Sister, Gaga, Grannie Annie, Gran, Auntie Annie, and Friend.

Born in 1943 in Albuquerque to John and Martha Dornacker, Ann attended Monte Vista Elementary, Jefferson Junior High, Highland High School, and graduated from the University of New Mexico. While vacationing at Waikiki Beach after graduation, a young Marine named Kendall Allen Madaras approached her and asked to borrow her boogie board. And so began a long-distance romance and after many letters exchanged, the two were married and remained so for 44 years, until his passing in 2010. Together, they made homes in Hawaii, New York, Virginia, North Carolina, and New Mexico, where Ann fulfilled her calling as a first-grade teacher.

Ann was well known for the rocking chair in her classroom and firmly believed that children needed equal amounts of nurturing and education. She had a gift for entertaining, opening her home and her heart to people and making them feel loved through good food and beautifully set tables. In her later years, she enjoyed volunteering in the elementary school classrooms of her grandchildren.

Ann is survived by her daughters, Annemarie and Mary and son in law, Elliot; her grandchildren, Ellie and Ben; her sister Mary, husband Stephen; her niece Naomi, husband Tim and child Summer; her nephew Louis, wife Erin and his children, Maxwell and Lucy. The family is deeply grateful for her friend Devi, who was with her at the time of her passing. They are also thankful to her devoted caregiver, Nikki, and to Lucky of Legacy Hospice. She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, her sister Jane, and many dear friends.

Think of Ann fondly each time you read or gift a book to a child, whenever you wear a bright red lipstick or don turquoise jewelry, play a practical joke, and as you host friends and family for meals—all of which she loved dearly.

Donations in Ann’s memory may be made to Libros For Kids, the New Mexico Alzheimer’s Association, or the Animal Humane Society of New Mexico, where she adopted more than one very large, unruly, and well-loved dog.

A celebration of Ann’s life will be held in the summer, and her remains will be interred alongside Ken’s at the National Cemetery in Santa Fe.