MAIRE CLAIRE VOORHEES

Maire Claire Voorhees (born Mary Alice Wright), 55, died peacefully with her family present in Tijeras, NM, on Thursday, October 17, 2019. She grew up in Plainsboro, NJ and graduated from West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South.

Maire Claire received a bachelors degree from Drexel University, in Philadelphia, majoring in interior design. She joined the Phi Sigma Sigma Sorority in college. After completing her undergraduate degree, she moved to Santa Fe, NM, where she spent nearly 30 years, prior to relocating to Tijeras, NM, recently.

Maire Claire earned a master’s degree at Prescott College, in Arizona, majoring in environmental studies and community sustainable development. During her graduate work, she was an intern in the NM legislature, and later became a NM House of Representatives legislative policy analyst for the Health Committee, chaired by Hon. Mimi Stewart. Also, she served as the green building coordinator at the NM Regulation and Licensing Department. As director of communication for the Prevention Alliance for six years, she focused on prevention of teen aged alcoholism and drug abuse.

An important part of Maire Claire’s life was the sobriety and fellowship she found in Alcoholics Anonymous for 30 years.

As a devotee of Amma, an internationally recognized spiritual leader from Kerala, India, Maire Clare was a volunteer for many years at the Amma Center of New Mexico in Santa Fe. She served as a Core Tour Coordinator on a team that planned and implemented five days of spiritual retreat events for Amma’s visits to NM, hosting approximately 3,000 attendees each day.

Maire Claire is survived by her son, Dmitri, of Seattle, WA; her husband, Benjamin Miller, of Tijeras; her parents, Barbara and Walter Wright, of Cranbury, NJ; and her brother and his wife, Walter and Susan Wright, of Danbury, NH.

A celebration of Maire Claire’s life will be held on Sunday, October 27, 2019, at noon at the Amma Center of NM, 48 Stone Cabin Road, Santa Fe, NM 87505; a celebration of her life will be held on Saturday, November 9, 2019, at 11 AM at the First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury, 22 South Main Street, Cranbury, NJ 08512.

In honor of Maire Claire, tax-deductible donations may be made to: Amma Center of NM, P.O. Box 4820, Santa Fe, NM 87502.