Faith Jones Bitsie

Funeral services for Faith Jones Bitsie, 70, will be held at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, May 14, 2011, at the Bethany Christian Reform Church, in Gallup, New Mexico. Pastor Stanley Jim will officiate. Burial will be in Tohatchi Community Cemetery in Tohatchi, New Mexico. Visitation will be held at Friday, May 13, from 5 to 7pm at Cope Memorial Chapel in Gallup, New Mexico. Bitsie died May 10, 2011, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She was born April 12, 1941 in Rehoboth, New Mexico. Bitsie was born for the Towering House People Clan and born for the Tangle People Clan. Bitsie graduated from Valley High School in Albuquerque. She continued her education at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. She also attended the University of New Mexico " Gallup Branch, where she earned her Certified Nursing Assistant Certificate. Bitsie was employed with the Navajo Nation, as a Community Health Representative, for 27 years. Her assigned locations included Tsayatoh and Tohatchi, New Mexico. Bitsie was a member of the Gallup Indian Medical Center Healthboard, Tohatchi Veterans Association, and she was an active participant at the Tohatchi Senior Citizens Center. Bitsie conducted various diabetic screenings and she also educated the community on health issues. Bitsie’s extracurricular activities included organizing the Tohatchi Red Ribbon Run and Just Move It Series. Her hobbies included traveling, gardening, donating time and items to community causes, completing find-a-word puzzles, and visiting her grandchildren. Survivors include her son, Morris Bitsie, from Albuquerque; her daughters, LaVerne Bitsie-Baldwin, from Manhatten, Kansas, Jennifer Ann Bitsie, from Albuquerque; her mother, Naomi Becenti, of Gallup; her brothers, Leroy Thompson Sr., of Albuquerque, Francis Becenti, of Gallup, Paul Jones Jr., of Gamerco, Stewart Jones, of Gallup, Harold Jones, of Window Rock; her sisters, Priscilla Becenti, Geri Harrison, both of Gallup, Helene Grisby, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Pauline Jones Jr., of Gamerco, Cynthia Mendez, of Vancouver, Washington, Luella Begay, of Albuquerque; and her three grandchildren. Bitsie was preceded in death by her husband, Oscar Bitsie; her father, Paul Jones Jr., and her brothers, Ronald Jones, Morris Paul Jones, and Ernest Thompson Sr. Pallbearers will be Ernest Thompson Jr., Fred Thompson, Anthony Thompson, Byron Bitsie, Leonard “L.T.” Watson Jr., and Zane Harrison. The family will receive relatives and friends at Tohatchi Chapter House following services and burial. Arrangements have been entrusted to: Cope Memorial Chapel 1830 Barbara Gallup, New Mexico 87301 (505) 722-6671