James Madrid

James Madrid, loving father, grandfather, and great-grand father passed away on September 24, 2017 at the age of 87, with his family by his side. He grew up on a farm in an adobe house in Gobernador, New Mexico. His family would often host bands of Indians as they worked their way to the Gathering of the Nation in Gallup. After graduating from Aztec high school, he joined the Navy and served on the USS Oriskany during the Korean War. Upon returning from the military, he hit gold in Durango, Colorado, where he met his kind, loving and cheerful wife Kay. He raised his family in Aztec where he built their first house. While in Aztec, he worked for El Paso Natural Gas, coached his sons little league baseball team, and learned to play golf. Thinking opportunities would be better for his children, he moved to Santa Fe, NM, where he worked as a State Farm agent until retirement. He adored and took delight in small children; his own, and especially his grandchildren and great grandchild. His favorite pastime was golf and he got quite good at it, winning several tournaments. He also enjoyed horse racing as well as reading books about World War II, where he lost his beloved brother Teddy. He valued education and sent all of his 6 children to college. He encouraged both his sons and daughters to play music and participate in sports. He and his wife traveled to Mazatlan, Hawaii, New Orleans and the Cayman Island, but his favorite trips were road trips to visit family. After retiring, he continued to play golf and bought a motorcycle. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Kay; his Daughters Debbi Madrid Doyle (Mike), Dolores Sala(David) and Patty Madrid; his sons Michael Madrid, Ted Madrid and Kenny Madrid (Pam), daughter-in-law Jackie Madrid; his grandchildren JJ Dalton, Jobe Madrid, Sonia Madrid, Curry Sutton ( Darren), Marcos Madrid, Kelly Madrid, Jessica Madrid(Mark), Samantha De la O, Dillon Sala and Marissa Sala; his great granddaughter Lilia, his sister Priscilla Fields and many nieces and nephews. A rosary will be held at 6:00 p.m. at the Rivera Family Kiva Chapel, in Santa Fe, on Wednesday, September 27, 2017. A mass will be celebrated on Thursday, September 28, 2017 at St John the Baptist Catholic church at 11:00 a.m. Following the mass, James will be laid to rest at 3:00 p.m.