Gloria (Velasquez) Rivero

The Rosary for Gloria Rivero, 76, of Portales will be recited at 2:00 PM, Thur., Jan. 13, 2022 in the Wheeler Mortuary Chapel.  Graveside committal of her remains will follow in the Portales Cemetery with Fr. Franklin Iwuagwu officiating and all of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren serving as honorary pallbearers.

Gloria Rivero was born Sept. 30, 1945 in Derramadero, NM to the home of Manuelita (Saiz) and Tomas Velasquez and died at her home in Portales on Jan. 8, 2022.  As an adult, Gloria worked at the Selected Casings Plant.  Later she was employed as a cook at Roosevelt General Hospital.  Gloria was responsible for starting the Family Planning Services office as well the establishing the WIC Nutrition Program here in Portales.

On Feb. 11, 1984 she was married to Isidro Rivero.  Gloria was a faithful member of St. Helen Catholic Church.  Her family has many items that she had quilted or crocheted for them.  She enjoyed crocheting dolls, and a number of them were entered in the Roosevelt County Fair, with one of them winning Best of Show.  Gloria also did woodworking, making benches and miniature pueblos, as well as bird houses.

She is survived by her husband, Isidro of their home; a son and daughter-in-law, Carlos and Dora Rivero of Clovis; a daughter and son-in-law, Malisa Ann and Dino Pacheco of Portales; 14 beautiful grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren and another expected soon; two brothers, Frank Garcia of Encino, NM and Rudy Velasquez of San Angelo, TX; and three sisters, Anna Tarango of Portales, and Mary Rodriguez and Mace Polk both of Clovis.  She was preceded in death by her parents, a brother, Orlando Velasquez, four sisters, Aurelia Barela, Cora Chavez, Angie Ramiirez and Rosalee Velasquez, an infant daughter in 1968 and three sons, Robert Steve Duarte on Sept. 3, 1983, Gilbert Joseph Duarte on Nov. 17, 1995 and Jimmy Duarte on Dec. 17, 2019.

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