Funeral at St. Joseph's March 9 for Mary Ellen Gandara, 90

Mary Ellen Gandara, 90, a lifelong resident of Lordsburg, New Mexico, died Sunday, March 1, 2026, the obituary published March 3, 2026 by Baca’s Funeral Chapels states. Funeral services are scheduled for Monday, March 9, 2026, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Lordsburg, according to the Baca’s Funeral Chapels obituary posted on Legacy.

"Visitation will be Monday afternoon, March 9, 2026 from 2 to 2:30 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church where the Holy Rosary will begin at 2:30 led by Maria Elena Roybal. Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 3 o’clock with Fr. Jude Okonkwo, Pastor officiating. Concluding services and interment will be at Shakespeare Cemetery." This service schedule and officiant are listed verbatim in the Baca’s Funeral Chapels obituary.

Pallbearers named by the funeral home are Noah Reyes; Jerry Reyes; Alex Garcia; Mateo Madrid; Anthony Garcia; Alan Strain. Baca’s Funeral Chapels lists concluding services and interment to follow the 3:00 p.m. Mass at Shakespeare Cemetery in Lordsburg.

Gandara was born May 12, 1935, in Salomon, Arizona to Mike Medina and Ramona Ornelas Medina, the obituary records. The notice says she was primarily a homemaker and that she worked "for some time" at the Lordsburg Café and the Hidalgo Hotel. The obituary also notes she especially enjoyed embroidery and visiting with family and friends.

Her survivors are listed in full by Baca’s: "She is survived by her daughters, Melsina Reyes (Jerry) of Las Vegas, Nevada, Becky Cabrera (Alan Strain) of Lordsburg; grandchildren, Anthony and Nicole (Alfred); great grandchildren, Regina, Renee, Alex, Noah, Alicia, and Maya. Mary was preceded in death by her husband Alejandro P. Gandara; sisters Celia, Cruz and Herminia and brothers, Rosalio, Pascual and Arnoldo." The pallbearer list above is repeated in the obituary.

For historical context, the obituary for her late husband Alejandro P. Gandara at Terrazas Funeral Chapels lists Alejandro’s date of death as June 11, 2018 at Fort Bayard Medical Center and describes him as a lifelong Lordsburg resident, an Army Korean War veteran and a retiree of the Texas New Mexico Power Plant. Terrazas’ 2018 obituary names survivors including Mary Ellen and gives grandchildren as Anthony Garcia and Nicole Reyes and five great-grandchildren as Regina, Renae, Alejandro, Noa, and Alicia; that list differs in spelling and in one name from the great-grandchildren listed in Baca’s obituary.

The two obituaries present differing name spellings and counts for grandchildren and great-grandchildren; Baca’s Funeral Chapels lists Regina, Renee, Alex, Noah, Alicia and Maya as great-grandchildren, while the earlier Terrazas Funeral Chapels notice lists Regina, Renae, Alejandro, Noa and Alicia. Journalistic practice cautions that these differences should be confirmed with the funeral home or a family representative before presuming alternate spellings or identities.

Baca’s Funeral Chapels and Mimbres Crematory of Deming published the obituary March 3, and the online obituary page includes a prompt: "To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Mary Ellen Gandara, please visit our floral store." The Legacy obituary page metadata shows an address listed as 811 S Gold Ave, Deming, NM 88030 and at the time of capture recorded zero guestbook entries. The obituary page also includes a grief support block stating: "We would like to offer our sincere support to anyone coping with grief. Enter your email below for our complimentary daily grief messages. Messages run for up to one year and you can stop at any time. Your email will not be used for any other purpose."

Visitation begins at 2:00 p.m. Monday, March 9; Holy Rosary led by Maria Elena Roybal begins at 2:30 p.m.; Mass of Christian Burial with Fr. Jude Okonkwo is at 3:00 p.m.; interment follows at Shakespeare Cemetery, as detailed in the Baca’s Funeral Chapels obituary posted March 3, 2026.