Exploring the memories that remain
‘The Legacy List with Matt Paxton’ episode to feature Taos family
Marcia Gonzales-Kimbraugh was raised in Taos as part of a large family.
Like many New Mexicans do, she moved away and had a long career as an attorney in the District Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles County.
After retiring, Gonzales-Kimbraugh became focused on clearing out her grandparent’s adobe home, which had sat empty for year.
Inside, there was plenty of clutter, as well as family heirlooms.
This is why Gonzales-Kimbraugh called on Matt Paxton.
Paxton is the host of “The Legacy List with Matt Paxton,” which features families from across the country who are ready to downsize.
Each episode follows one family’s emotional journey as Paxton and his team of experts — Jaime Ebanks, Avi Hopkins and Mike Kelleher — help them sort through a house full of memories. Gonzales-Kimbraugh’s episode will air at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, April 3, on New Mexico PBS, channel 5.4. It will rebroadcast at 1 p.m. April 17, on New Mexico PBS, channel 5.1.
As a first step, Paxton asks families to create a legacy list of essential, must-have items that are missing or about which they’d like to learn more. Through heartfelt conversations with the families, he uncovers the story behind each item, spotlighting America’s rich and diverse legacy, one house and one family at a time.
The series explores the struggle between holding on to the past and embracing the future and stresses the importance of sharing family stories above holding on to objects.
“Filming this new season of ‘Legacy List’ was an eye-opening experience for the team and me,” Paxton says. “We visited parts of the country we’d never seen and learned so much about the history of our nation. But no matter where we went, the common thread for all of our homeowners was a legacy of hard work and the importance of family. It was an honor to help them let go of some of the objects that were weighing them down while celebrating their history and memories.”
Gonzalez-Kimbrough says her grandfather had many jobs including a sheep herder and a maintenance man at Los Alamos National Laboratory during the Manhattan Project.
She and her siblings want to find keepsakes like old letters, documents, farm equipment and personal items that tell their family history.
“My mother passed away in 2015 and my grandfather passed away in 2010,” she says. “In 2019, I listened to this episode and Matt was on it and talking about decluttering. I knew that I was facing going through my mother’s effects and my grandparents’ house that had been vacant. I really needed help. We are incredibly proud of our heritage and my grandparents are poster grandparents for what northern New Mexico is all about.”
The crew came out to film in May 2021.
Paxton has been helping families downsize for more than 20 years.
“What’s been so great is the TV show lets me focus a little less on the stuff and more on the family stories,” Paxton says. “I didn’t understand the multigenerational pride that exists and it makes for great TV. These incredible stories keep coming out. We had to work hard at getting it under two hours. It’s about the people and the memories attached to the stuff.”