Mary "Priscilla" (Garcia) Lovato

The Rosary for Mary “Priscilla” Lovato, 81, of Portales, will be recited at 9:00 AM, Fri., Aug. 23, 2024 at St. Helen Catholic Church.  Mass of the Resurrection will be celebrated by Fr. Francisco Carbajal at 10:00 AM, and burial will follow in the Portales Cemetery with Ricky Lovato, Fabian Lopez, Michael Lovato, Gabriel Martinez, K. C. Fitzwater and Vale Sotelo serving as pallbearers.

Mary Priscilla Lovato, known to virtually everyone as “Priscilla,” was born May 7, 1943 in Vaughn, NM to the home of Marina (Apodaca) and Samuel Garcia, and died on the evening of Aug. 20, 2024 in Portales, NM.  Following the death of her mother when she was 8 years old, she went to live with her sister and brother-in-law in Urey, CO.  Three years later, they moved to Portales, and this had been her home ever since.

On Feb. 9, 1960, at the age of 16, she was married to Cristobal Lovato.  They had a nuclear family of five children, two sons and three daughters, but Priscilla became “Mom” and “Grandma” to countless extended family members as well as others she met through the years.  When her children and grandchildren were young, she took them to the fields to learn to work.  As a result, they all developed a good work ethic.

As a young woman, she worked in the local Selected Casings Plant.  After the plant closed, she worked at the Pizza Mill restaurant.  Finally, for more than 30 years, she was employed by the State of New Mexico as a Client Service Agent providing elder care to numerous people.  Priscilla did not just take care of those clients, but she really cared for them by showing them true love and affection.  Since her job was through Child, Youth and Family Services, she came into contact with children who were being removed for their homes, and she became “Grandma” to all of them as well.

In 1996, when the local chapter of the Catholic Daughters was formed, Priscilla became a charter member.  At the time of her death, she had been a member for 28 years.  During that time, she had contributed countless pies and cakes to the annual Fiesta, along with making the “best red chili sauce in the county.”  Priscilla prayed the Rosary numerous times a day, remembering those she loved personally, as well as praying for the world.  She knew that hope in Jesus was the only source of true joy and peace, and she truly desired that everyone would experience that.  She had brought many people to join her in her faith.  Her favorite song was Jesus Loves Me.

She is survived by two sons, Michael and Angela Lovato and Arthur and LaQueda Lovato both of Portales; three daughters, Bernadine and Celia Lovato of Fort Worth, TX, and Christine and Jay Brandenburg and Phoebe and Liborio Gomez, Jr. of Portales; 14 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great-grandchildren; a brother, Savio (Julie) Garcia of El Paso, TX and a sister, Juanita Montano of Portales.  She was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers, Juan and Pete Garcia, two sisters, Corine Garcia and Arabella Pino, three grandchildren, Kacee Lovato and Seth and C. J. Brandenburg, and by her beloved husband, Chris Lovato, who died April 19, 2017.

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