Anna Marie Muller

Passed away peacefully on October 22, 2020 in Fremont, California with her sister Frankie by her side, following several years of declining health. She was 77 years old. Anna Marie was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico on July 4, 1943. For many years she would celebrate her birthday in Taos attending the 4th of July parade in Arroyo Seco and previously held memorable celebrations on that day with family and friends at the home of her mother, Ruby, in Los Córdovas. After having grown up in Oakland, California and spending numerous summers in Los Córdovas with her grandmother, Ciria Montoya, she moved back to Albuquerque to attend the College of St. Joseph on the Rio Grande and later received a master’s degree from the University of New Mexico. She went on to create NEDA Business Consultants, Inc., which specialized in helping to secure financing and government contracts for small businesses owned by women and minorities. Her office was located in the John Pearce House in downtown Albuquerque, a building she had bought and renovated. She also owned the iconic S. H. Kress building on Central Avenue and the San Ysidro Oratorio, her family’s original chapel in Los Córdovas. All three of these buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Additionally, her own home was a Tudor revival house designed by Kate Nichols Chaves in 1908-1909. Anna Marie helped start the Downtown Neighborhoods Association in Albuquerque, advocating for a safe environment for business owners and patrons, and helped establish the Downtown Growers’ Market. Her love for the outdoors was demonstrated by the fact that she was an avid bicyclist who would rather be on one of her bikes than in her car and by the many winters she spent skiing at the Taos Ski Valley. She and her mother spent many Sundays together attending services at the San Francisco de Asís church in Ranchos de Taos and at the Morada on Good Fridays. The two of them also enjoyed traveling together, with particularly memorable trips made to Italy, New York, and Washington, D.C., where Anna Marie was very politically involved and befriended politicians on both sides of the aisle maintaining government connections on the national, as well as local, levels. Anna Marie cherished her roots and family ties and was very close to her mother, Ruby, her sister, Frankie, and her cousin, Cecilia Griffin. She was preceded in death by her father, Francis G. Muller; her mother, Rumalda Montoya Solomon; and her dear nephew, Michael Troy Veronda. Anna Marie is survived by her sister, Frankie Veronda of Fremont, California; her niece, Wendy Veronda Moitoso (Daniel Sr.) of Ripon, California; her nephew, Harold Joseph Veronda Jr. (Angela) of Charleston, South Carolina; her great-nephew, Daniel J. Moitoso Jr. (Amanda) of McKinleyville, California; her great-nieces, Christine Ann Abernathy (Chris) of Tarzana, California; Kaela Ann Cooper (Frank) of Summerville, South Carolina; Haley Webb (Spencer) of Culloden, West Virginia; Casey Veronda of Fairmont, West Virginia; Jaime Veronda of Glen Burnie, Maryland; Martina Veronda of Charleston, South Carolina; four great-grandnieces; and four great-grandnephews. She is also survived by numerous family members and treasured friends here in New Mexico and in California. A celebration of her life will take place at a later date.