Lena Salce Apodaca

APODACA- Lena Salce Apodaca, age 99, a lifelong resident of Corrales, NM passed away December 26, 2010 at Skies Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Albuquerque. She was very much a part of the fabric of the Corrales community as her family was interwoven with families of that generation. Her parents were among the first Italian settlers in Corrales. She was fluent in Italian, Spanish and English. In addition to growing up and working on her parents’ farm, she had worked as a beautician, a kitchen and cafeteria worker at high schools in Bernalillo and Albuquerque, and as a housekeeper and babysitter for the Lovelace family. Her relationship with the Lovelace family had a significant impact on her life. She always spoke kindly of them and was grateful that they cared for her in later years. She proudly told everyone “they went to the moon!” Lena and her husband tended their apple orchards, grew and harvested a variety of fruits and vegetables and raised poultry and livestock including milk cows. She also farmed other lands in addition to her own. People would say “she was an extremely hard worker.” She was especially proud of the quality of her produce which garnered her many blue ribbons over the years at the NM state fair. She enjoyed selling from her stand or loading her truck for trips to Gallup and to the many Pueblo fiestas where the locals eagerly awaited her visits. They would buy gunny sacks filled with her apples, chiles and other fruits of her labor. Her entire life was dedicated to farming and working the irrigation systems unique to the area. She particularly loved her apple orchards and would often ask her caregivers to make sure the apples were getting plenty of water and she would always offer them apples. Lena was a very generous person and never hesitated to help others in need, assisting with their farming needs or giving away her apples and produce. She also was a contributor to the creation of Salce Park. As the years crept up on her and her driver’s license was denied due to failing eye sight, she remained undaunted and would drive her tractor to the post office. Her daughter likened her to a free spirit. Lena will be remembered as a strong, independent, hard working Corrales farmer who possessed a kind and generous heart. She attended San Ysidro Church in Corrales as long as she was able to. She loved to sing hymns and have the Bible read to her. She expressed a deep and abiding love for her Lord Jesus. Lena was preceded in death by her parents Angelo of Sedico, Italy and Maria Nechiari Salce of Lucca, Italy, her Uncle Luigi Salce of Italy, her husband Candido Apodaca, her brothers Virgilio and Arthur Salce and her sisters Dulcelina Salce Curtis, Ida Salce Gutierrez and Maria Salce, all of Corrales. She was the last remaining first American generation of the Salce family. Lena is survived by her daughter, Charlene Whiteman Davis; granddaughter, Terri Davis Babbick and husband Randy; granddaughter, Jeanine Davis Lombardo and husband Tano; great-grandchildren, Benjamin and Rachel of Cave Creek, AZ, Brian, Nicholas and Caitlyn of Thousand Oaks, CA; nieces, Evelyn Curtis Losack, Dorothy Curtis Trafton, and Catherine Gutierrez, all of Corrales, NM, Bertha Salce Astorga of Las Vegas, NV, Vivian Salce Bonner of Truth or Consequences, NM; nephew, Richard Salce of Rio Rancho, NM; and several other family members. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Foundation for the Blind, 2 Penn Plaza, Suite 1102, New York, NY 10121, 800-232-5463. Alzheimer’s Foundation, 9500 Montgomery, Suite 121, Albuquerque, NM, 800-272-3900; Arthritis Association, 1255 Hillrise Circle, Las Cruces, NM 88011, 575-532-5934. Arrangements are entrusted to: Daniels Family Funeral Services Sara Road Chapel 4310 Sara Road SE Rio Rancho, New Mexico 87124 505-892-9920