Mary Alesch
The red-headed,
Irish nurse who worked for almost 40 years at both the Presbyterian and Kaseman Emergency Rooms has become one of God’s Angels. Mary Alesch died on June 13, 2022. She battled several injuries and illnesses over her last few years, the most insidious one being dementia, all the while cared for lovingly by her husband of 65 years, Vern Alesch. Mary was predeceased by her son, Brian Alesch. She is survived by Vern, her daughter, Army Lieutenant Colonel Donna Alesch White and her husband Mike White of Albuquerque, NM. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Katie Vowels (Army Sergeant Frank Vowels) of Fort Bragg, NC, and Jake Newell (Monica Franco) of Lafayette, CO; her great-grandchildren, Ryin Vowels and Vhalen Vowels; her nieces and nephews in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, and Colorado; her step-grandchildren in Colorado and New Mexico; her relatives in Ireland, and many friends and colleagues from her time as an ER nurse.
Mary was born in Dublin, Ireland, to an unwed mother who had been raised in a Catholic home. Unable to care for her, Mary’s mother placed her child with a neighbor family in her home town of Portarlington, County Laoise, Ireland. Alas, that neighbor family was Protestant, and having a Catholic child raised by a Protestant family was considered sacrilege at that time, so Mary (then known as Stella) was forcibly removed from the loving home she’d known for the first three years of her life and placed in a Catholic orphanage in Ennis, Ireland. In the ensuing years she worked for a local butcher, as a house domestic, and she survived many forms of abuse. At eighteen she was hired by a wealthy couple from Madison, Wisconsin to be the wife’s assistant. At eighteen, upon being given her birth certificate and passport for the first time, she discovered that her legal name was Mary Kathryn, and her date of birth was December 12, 1931. The assistant position in Madison proved to be more indentured servitude than employment, and she only escaped from it when a church friend took her to a local police station to file a report. She quickly found employment as a telephone operator and met a University of Wisconsin undergrad, Vern, who she married on October 20, 1956. Less than a year later, Donna was born followed soon after by Brian. As a married couple, Mary and Vern lived in Madison, WI, Phoenix, AZ, Shawano, WI, East Moline, IL, and Joliet, IL. They moved to Albuquerque, NM, in 1969 where they have resided ever since.
When Mary was 34 she obtained her GED, going on to earn her certification and licensure as a Licensed Practical Nurse. Though only an LPN, Mary went on to become the taskmaster at each of her hospital workplaces. She was known to speak bluntly to colleagues and patients alike, though her caring nature always came through. She was also known to bring the family members of ER patients home if they were stranded in Albuquerque. She and Vern volunteered for two decades with Marriage Encounter, a faith-based marriage enrichment program. She drove the morning carpool to Donna’s swim practices, one time doing so the day after she had picked up a load of chicken manure in the family station wagon – 5 young heads were hanging out the windows on that ride to practice. She stopped at every garage sale – EVERY GARAGE SALE!- she drove by, always sharing her found treasures with friends and strangers alike. She hosted legendary tailgates for the West Point cadets Donna brought over, one time serving up wine in a glass saline solution bottle with the stop-cocked hose attached to it. She dropped everything to care for Donna’s two children when her military obligations took her away from home for extended periods of time. She cooked the best corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day each year until Brian died on that day in 2005. She had no filter, and her loved ones were both lambasted and treasured in equal measure. Mary truly believed in the goodness of all human beings, which was remarkable given the dire circumstances she grew up in.
A celebration of Mary’s life will start with a Rosary service on Saturday morning, June 25, 2022 at 9:00am at Sangre de Cristo Catholic Church, 8901 Candelaria Rd, Albuquerque, 87112. A Mass will be celebrated that same morning, that same location beginning at 9:30am. A reception will be held in the Sangre de Cristo Church Parish Hall after the mass. Interment of Mary’s cremains will take place at a later date at the Santa Fe National Cemetery, where she will be eternally joined with her son, Brian.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Rust Opportunity Assistance Fund at CNM (https:/ /www.cnm. edu/depts/foundation) or the Wounded Warrior Project (https://support. woundedwarriorproject. org)