Martha Herrera

Martha T. Herrera, a native of Santa Cruz, N.M., and a longtime active resident of Albuquerque’s West Side died surrounded by family on July 24, 2026. She was 93 years old. Martha was married for 54 years to her childhood sweetheart Charlie P. Herrera of Santo Nino until his death in 2003. Martha and Charlie had five children: daughter Veronica Monthan (Bill); and sons Toby (Bernice), Carlos (Helen); Daniel (Sylvia) and Gilbert (Catalina).Until her passing, she fulfilled one of her greatest desires and lived on her own, taking care of most of her needs and driving until she was 90.Martha was born on a farm in Santa Cruz on Jan. 30, 1933, the ninth of 11 children born to Pedro Alfonso and Maria Angelica Trujillo, though five of the children – Epifania, Fidelita, Dominguita, Anastacio and Juan Estevan – died in early childhood. Martha also was preceded in death by her brothers Ignacio and Dionicio Trujillo, and sisters Juanita Vigil and Margaret Rodriguez. She is survived by her children and her youngest sister Helen Ortiz.A fiercely independent woman with a strong faith in God, church and country, Martha resided in the home she and Charlie bought in 1963 on Albuquerque’s West Side. Together, they were among a small group of parents who in the 1960s formed the West Mesa Little League, where she was a chairwoman of the Women’s Auxiliary and official scorekeeper. Martha was very active for more than 60 years at Holy Rosary Catholic Church, as an alto singer and guitarist in the Sunday choir, a regular daily Mass lector and cantor, eucharistic minister and an occasional member of the Parish Council. Martha was frequently called on by funeral homes and parishes to recite the rosary in her reassuring voice both in English and Spanish. She was known for her touching rendition of “Amazing Grace” on harmonica or accordion.She retired from Albuquerque Public Schools, where she worked as a bilingual education assistant at West Mesa High School and John Adams Middle School. Previously, she had worked at Spartan Southwest and Elastimold making components used in military aircraft.But her greatest passion was taking care of her children, and she stayed home with them until all were in school. As they were growing, Martha always stressed the importance of education, even finding a way to budget enough money to buy a set of encyclopedias so that access to knowledge was always close at hand. She and Charlie had their rules, but they also encouraged their children to fly. Martha often deservedly cited her children’s accomplishments as among her proudest achievements. All now retired, Veronica was Director of Human Resources at the National Nuclear Security Administration; Toby was a principal at Valley High School and Director of Special Services for APS; Carlos was a physical education teacher at Chaparral Elementary School; Dan was Managing Editor of the Albuquerque Journal; and Gilbert was Director of Research at the National Security Agency (NSA) and was a fellow and a director at Sandia National Laboratory. Martha Herrera was active in her community her entire life. As a girl, she began singing in the Santa Cruz Church choir when she was nine years old. Later, she was paid $2 a session by the parish priest to accompany him with music while he made his rounds to conduct services at small chapels in Truchas, Cordova, Chimayo and other northern New Mexico foothill communities as well as in the Espanola Valley as far north as Velarde. She also made extra spending money as a girl by delivering the Santa Fe New Mexican and working the candy counter during school lunch breaks at Wilson’s General Store, back then in Santa Cruz Plaza. She fondly remembered working on her parents’ 10.5 acre farm on Santa Cruz Road north of the plaza. As a preteen she started driving her dad’s Farm All tractor while her brothers worked the crops from the trailer she was pulling. The family sold apples, chile, milk and eggs. They also grew almost every other kind of produce that could be preserved for use as needed to feed the family. During apple harvesting time, Martha recalled her mother telling the children as they came home from school to put on their old clothes and shoes because they needed dozens of boxes of produce filled by morning to be trucked off as far as Texas, Oklahoma and Arizona. She recalled that famed artist Georgia O’Keeffe was known to stop by the farm on occasion to purchase produce and once used a big camera on a tripod to photograph her and her sister Margaret holding their puppy, a copy of which was given to the family. She also recalled her parents purchasing their first motorized vehicle during the 1930s, an International Harvester truck, and using it to take the children and friends to see the burning of Zozobra in Santa Fe. Martha and Charlie were well-known by many dozens of New Mexico couples, who for years called on them to lead the traditional “marcha” during their wedding receptions. They never said no and were exceptionally skilled at guiding large groups through small spaces for the folk dance. Martha loved dancing and was a regular for many years at local senior centers – especially 4th Street, Barelas, Volcanes and Heights – attending dances several times a week and also singing on Tuesdays at 4th Street. She and Charlie won several dance competitions doing the jitterbug, and after Charlie died she danced with son Toby winning polka competitions. Martha loved music of all kinds, especially live performances. She saw her all-time favorite, Elvis Presley, perform at Tingley Coliseum in 1972. In the early 60s, she and Charlie would go to the Club Chesterfield on west Central Avenue to see Glen Campbell, then an Albuquerque resident, perform. Charlie called upon the budding country superstar to sing “Happy Birthday” to Martha, even if it wasn’t her birthday. Martha had 15 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and a great-great-grandson. Her grandchildren can be found in states from coast to coast, and four are in medical fields, two in social service careers, seven in business and one remained home to raise her children. One granddaughter, April, preceded her in death. She also is survived by dozens of nieces and nephews and was especially close to her goddaughters Barbara Cordova and Helen Atencio. Martha Herrera’s services are being handled by Gabaldon Mortuary, www.gabaldonmortuaryinc.com. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, August 4, 2026 at 6:30 p.m. at Holy Rosary Catholic Church 5415 Fortuna Rd NW with a Rosary to be recited at 7:00p.m. Mass of the Resurrection will be celebrated on Wednesday, August 5, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. also at Holy Rosary Church. Interment will be held at Mt. Calvary Cemetery at 1:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Holy Rosary Catholic Church, 5415 Fortuna Road NW, Albuquerque NM 87105.