Jose Marcus

Peacefully passed away on Tuesday, November 22nd, at home in Espanola, New Mexico. Jose was born and raised in Taos Pueblo, New Mexico. After attending the Santa Fe Indian School, he enlisted in the Army and was honorably discharged. While in the Army he was stationed in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. After the Army he went to Detroit, Michigan to pursue his dream to become an employee of Ford Motor Company because he thought they were the best cars. He stayed with his Uncle Teofilo Lucero, who had already moved from Taos Pueblo, while he got his feet on the ground. He retired from Ford's after 30 years and was a proud United Auto Workers (UAW) union member throughout his life. He also began to participate at the North American Indian Association after moving to Detroit. He was very involved there, especially with helping to teach and share Native American songs and dances. Through this organization, he met his wife, Dorothy Sebastion, and they had 3 children, Esther, John and Kevin. Although they did eventually divorce they remained lifelong friends. He remarried Christine Stone and they had a son, Two Eagles. After a second divorce he had a daughter, Natalie Barney. He spent most of his years in Michigan going to Pow wows in Michigan, Southern Ontario and other nearby states. He was a dancer and singer at these pow wows but eventually mainly stuck to singing. He helped start the Hard Corp Singers in the early 70's, then started the Blue Lake singers in the late 70's. He is also survived by many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, December 1, 2016 at 12:30 PM at Rivera Family Funeral Home. Burial will take place at the Santa Fe National Cemetery at 2:15, December 1, 2016.