‘A pillar in the community of Taos’
2011 Unsung Hero remembered for lifetime of service
“Mary Alice was a pillar in the community of Taos, supporting numerous ministries at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, blessing the Taos Municipal School system, serving the students and staff, initiating many enduring programs, and serving the broader community on multiple boards. Her love for the community of Taos was rivaled only by her love and devotion to her family and friends. As she often said, ‘It’s always been about the kids.’”
DeVargas Funeral Home online obituary
Mary Alice Avila-Winter, age 87, a much loved Unsung Hero and native of Taos, passed away Dec. 9, 2022.
Elected an Unsung Hero by the Taos community in 2011, Mary Alice notably avoided the limelight when possible, preferring to spotlight the needs of children and the community. During her 35 years working in Taos Public Schools as a nurse, she was ever grateful to all the people, the “real heroes” who helped her along the way.
“Mary Alice was a pillar in the community of Taos,” according to the DeVargas Funeral Home online obituary, “supporting numerous ministries at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, blessing the Taos Municipal School system, serving the students and staff, initiating many enduring programs, and serving the broader community on multiple boards. Her love for the community of Taos was rivaled only by her love and devotion to her family and
friends. As she often said, ‘It’s always been about the kids.’”
The daughter of Jose and Agnes Avila, Mary Alice AvilaWinter was raised on La Loma Plaza. She earned a nursing degree from St. Mary of Nazareth School of Nursing in Chicago in 1955 and completed a school nurse practitioner program at the University of Colorado in 1989. Avila-Winter had a long tenure as head of nurses at Taos Public Schools. Among many beneficial programs she helped spearhead was Taos High School Teen Clinic, a program helping teen parents be near their babies while continuing their education and gaining valuable parenting skills.She helped secure low-cost physicals for school athletes; and pre-registration for pre-kindergarten children, allowing the nurses to check students’ hearing, vision and potential learning disabilities — ultimately convincing the school board to create a Special Ed nurse position.While working as Taos Junior High School nurse, Avila-Winter helped start the Ski Club. She told Taos News
in 2011, “I thought, you know, ‘all these kids are not skiing, and they’re not using that mountain, and it’s not fair.’ So I called Ernie Blake and asked if I could meet with him. He granted me the meeting and we started the ski club and got a lot of children involved with that.”AvilaWinter said her motivation for groundbreaking programs was just thinking about the needs of the students. “I was real fortunate in working with the State Department of Health on these programs,” she said. Though she raised four children of her own, Avila-Winter always found time for Taos school children.“I was always busy. I used to work until 7 or 8 in the evening but I didn’t mind doing that. It was the only time I was able to write grants.”Avila-Winter insisted the true secret of her success was the support at every level in the school system, from administrators to school board and the staff. “They were great. Anything I presented to them, whether it was funding for this, that or the other, they were always cooperative,” she said.She won the State of New
Mexico School Nurse of the Year award in 1998, some five years before she retired.Prior to Taos Public Schools, Avila-Winter worked at Holy Cross Hospital, where she worked nights with only one aide. She later worked at an Albuquerque Army hospital, where she met husband Edward Winter, a young soldier from Peoria, Ill. She also served on the Ancianos and EnSueños boards, was a member of two church choirs at Our Lady of Guadalupe and secretary of the church’s finance committee; and was also a Fraternal Order of Eagles officer, and member of Optimists International of Taos.She credited her busyness to her mother. She said her mother “was always so involved in everything.“It was neat working at the school because I had them there with me and I could keep an eye on them,” she added.Raising a family is not easy, she always said, adding that a “lot of people do a lot more than I do. I think the thing that means the most to me was raising the children. Because whoever says it’s easy — it’s not.” Mary Alice is preceded in death by parents Jose F. and Agnes Avila; in-laws Edward Sr. and Lillian Winter; brothers Pete and Joe Avila; sisters Cidelia Montoya and Ramona Anglada; brothers-in-law Espil Montoya, Roy Anglada, Conley
Sr., Michael and Randy Winter, Bill Lentz, and Wayne Stallion; and sisters-in-law Bernadette Avila, and Rita Winter.
According to the DeVargas Funeral Home obit, Avila-Winter is survived by her loving husband of 62 years, Edward Winter Jr.; children Loretta Robb (Dan), Mark Winter (Luz), James Winter (Melissa), and Joseph Winter (Esther); grandchildren Eugene Trujillo (Lupe), Andrew Trujillo, Shawna Trujillo, Benjamin Winter (Kristina), Alexander Winter (Cecilia), Elizabeth Winter, Brianna Lassa ( Joe), Gabriela Winter, Brandon Winter (Monica), Amadeo Aragon and Alexa Winter; great-grandchildren Luis, Sonya, Alexandra, Marissa, Emily, Emma, Eleanor, Olivia, Amelia, Zayn and Archer; greatgreat grandchildren Leia and Elle; siblings-in-law Mary Ann Simpson, Jackie Lents, Eugene Winter (Elaine), Sandra Stallion, Dennis Winter (Peggy), Patty Shepardson (Richard) and Melody Barkdoll; and many special nieces and nephews, relatives, friends, many students she lovingly called hitos and hitas, and of course her family pets.