Deaths

• Joe Lee, Sr.
• Mary Nez
• Frances Grit
• Shirley Bass
• Clifford Begay
• Archie Larry
• Dalton Yazzie
• Alexander Thomas

Joe Lee, Sr.

RED ROCK, N.M. — Services for Joe Lee Sr., 85, will be 10 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 17 at Cope Memorial Chapel in Gallup. Father Eduardo Lalo Espinosa will officiate. Burial will follow at Hillcrest Cemetery in the veteran's section.

Lee died Jan. 12 in Gallup. He was born June 21, 1922 in White Face, N.M. into the Meadow People Clan for the Bitter Water People Clan.

Lee served in the U.S. Army. He worked for the Santa Fe/Northern Pacific Railroad and Robert Gerard Trucking. He worked for Vernon Hamilton Construction for 30 years and retired. After retirement he was a rancher. He enjoyed horseback riding and reading to all his grandchildren.

Survivors include his wife Marie Jim Lee of Gallup; sons, Joe Lee Jr., of Gallup; daughters Martha Antone, Marlene Lee, Sandra Lee, all from Gallup; brother Willie Lee and sister Sadie Lewis, both of Twin Buttes; 21 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

Lee was preceded in death by his parents Frank Lee and Mary Lee Joe Woody; Joe Frank, Lupe Tom, Ross Lee and Annie Lee.

Pallbearers will be Malcolm Antone, Daryl Antone, Andrew Antone Jr., Kurt Etsitty, Heydan Lewis and Leonard Jim Jr.

Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

Mary Nez

COYOTE CANYON — Services for Mary Rose Nez, 81, will be at 10 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 17 at The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints in Gallup. Elder Herman Plummer will officiate. Burial will be at private land in Coyote Canyon.

Visitation will be at 9 a.m., one hour previous to services at the LDS Stake Center.

Nez died Jan. 11 in Gallup. He was born May 6, 1925 in Coyote Canyon into the Bitter Water People Clan for the Red Running into the Water People Clan.

Nez retired from Chuska Boarding School as a cultural teacher in 1993. She was a rancher, weaver and homemaker.

Survivors include her sons, Billy Victor Nez Jr., of Coyote Canyon, Notah Begaye of Bloomfield, N.M., Paul Victor Nez of Brighton, Colo.; daughters Margaret Sekaquaptewa of Phoenis, Irene Jones of Page, Ariz., Sarah Fisher of Boise, Idaho, Genevieve Holona of Shiprock, Victoria Pace of Amarillo, Texas, Ruby M. Haley of Gallup, Theresa M. Nez of Mexican Springs, NM; 20 grandchildren, 58 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.

Nez was preceded in death by her husband, Billy Victor Nez, Sr., daughter, Virginia Katherine Nez, sons, Reginald A. Begaye and Franklin Begaye, parents, Hatathlie Yazzie and Margaret K. Becenti Begaye, sisters, Bekisbah Plummer and Florence Yazzie; brothers, Thomas Becenti, Thomas Yazzie, Richard Yazzie, Evan Yazzie, John Y. Begaye, Frances Becenti and Alfred Becenti.

Pallbearers will be Merrill Jones, Matthew Jones, Ed Sekaquaptewa, Jr., Nicholas Begaye, Robin C. Fisher, II. and Nathaniel Plummer.

The family will receive relatives and friends at Coyote Canyon Chapter House after burial.

Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

Frances Grit

JENISON, Mich. — Frances Monsma Grit, 93, died Dec. 25.

Grit and her husband moved to Gallup after retiring in Michigan to be houseparents at the former Girls Christian Center. They volunteered for 17 years at Rehoboth school and church. Grit served as treasurer and President at the Hospital Auxiliary.

Survivors include sons, Jim Grit of Celeryville, Ohio, Bill Grit of Grandville, Mich. and Nels Grit of Grand Rapids, Mich.; daughter, Carlene Hoeksema of Gallup; 13 grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren.

Grit was preceded in death by her husband, Cornelius Grit.

The family received relatives and friends before the services and at a luncheon after services on Dec. 30.

Shirley Bass

CLAYTON, N.M. — Memorial services for Shirley Ann Bass, 60, will be 11 a.m., Thursday, Jan. 18 at the Chapel of Direct Funeral Services. Reverend Sonnie E. Fish will officiate. Inurnment will be at Bass Ranch in Bluewater Lake at a later date.

Bass died Jan. 13 in Albuquerque. She was born Aug. 27, 1946 in Clayton.

Bass was a Denver Broncos fan and she loved to listen to Neil Diamond. She was a seamstress and enjoyed cross-stitching, arts and crafts.

Survivors include her father, Emery Spriggs of Albuquerque; daughters, Tina Bush of Thoreau and Robin Bass of Mesa, Ariz.; brothers, Robert Emery Spriggs of Albuquerque and Darrell Richard Spriggs of Albuquerque; sisters, Sue Powell of Albuquerque and Evonne Roundy of Boulder, Colo.; two grandchildren.

Bass was preceded in death by her mother, Virginia Spriggs.

Clifford Begay

SAWMILL, Ariz. — Services for Clifford Ruben Begay, 34, will be 10 a.m. Jan. 17 at the Assembly of God Family Church in Sawmill. Pastor Stanley Belinte will officiate. Burial will follow at family land in White Clay, Ariz.

Begay died Jan. 13 in Gallup. He was born July 21, 1972 in Fort Defiance into the Apache Red Streak Running into the Water People Clan for the Tangle People Clan.

Begay attended Riverside Indian School in Anadarko, Okla., AIAI of Santa Fe and Job Corp in Missoula, Mont. He was employed with Denny's as a head cook in St. Michaels, seasonal employment with the Navajo Scouts Region 3 Wildland Firefighters in Fort Defiance. Hobbies include auto mechanics, classic cars, weight lifting and cooking. He was an artist and received blue ribbon awards from Oklahoma University and Heard Museum in Phoenix.

Survivors include son, Shylon Dwayne Begay of Mentmore; parents, Anthony D. Milford, Sr. of Sawmill and Lillian C. Milford of Sawmill; brother, Eldon Begay of Twin Lakes; sisters, Lori J. Cross of Sawmill and Tatiana D. Milford of Fort Defiance.

Begay was preceded in death by his brother, Dwayne Milford; father, Eddie W. Begay; grandparents, Ben and Emma Chee and John and Hasbah Begay.

Pallbearers will be Michael Ruiz, Rudy Dickson, Lester Chee, Darrell DuBois, Tyler Begay and Herman Whitney.

The family will receive relatives and friends at Sawmill Chapter House after services.

Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

Archie Larry

THOREAU — Services for Archie Larry, 72, will be 10 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 17 at the First Baptist Church in Thoreau. Pastor Glenn Marshall will officiate. Burial will follow in Thoreau.

Larry died Jan. 12 in Albuquerque. He was born May 15, 1934 in Thoreau into the Water Flows Together People Clan for the Salt People Clan.

Larry was employed with Union Pacific, Cinza Refinery, the State Highway Department and McKinley County Road Department. His hobbies include silversmithing, ranching, carpentry and playing the hermonica.

Survivors include wife, Mable Larry; sons, Herman, Jones, Jerry and Calvin Larry; daughters, Elvera Chee, Nora Larry and Vina Robertson; brothers, Ernest and Ervin Larry; sisters, Irene Shorty, Laurine Rangel, Alice Mae Larry, Ellen Pablo and Hazel Kenneth; garndparents, Emma Saunders and Frank Saunders; 22 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Pallbearers will be Jones Larry, Sr., Rollen Martinez, Lathan Robertson, Sr., Herman Larry, Sr., Shaun Eskeets and Lallo Yazzie.

The family will receive relatives and friends at Thoreau Chapter House after services.

Silver Creek Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.

Dalton Yazzie

PREWITT — Services for Dalton Dan Yazzie, 8 months old, will be announced at a later date.

Yazzie died Jan. 14. He was born April 27, 2006 in Gallup.

A family gathering will be 6 p.m., today, Jan. 16 at Thoreau Chapter House.

Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

Alexander Thomas

BREADSPRINGS — Services for Alexander Thomas, 38, will be announced at a later date.

Thomas died Jan. 15 in Gallup. He was born Dec. 8, 1968 in Gallup.

Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.