Louella Mathews

Louella Mae Stonebraker Mathews, 86, left this earth to join her Lord and Savior on June 6, 2017. Born in 1930 in Neligh, Nebraska to a farming family during the early years of the Great Depression, she excelled in high school where she was a drum majorette and roller skating queen. After graduation she left for Washington, D.C. where she worked in the secretarial pool for the FBI and met her first husband, with whom she started a family. Life took her to Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana before a move to Hobbs, NM in 1959. There, Louella raised her three children, mostly as a single mother, while working with companies in the oil and gas industry. She was a faithful choir member of St. Matthew Lutheran Church for many years.  In 1974 Louella moved to Albuquerque to work for the Department of Energy. In the last years of her career she transferred to Las Vegas, Nevada and served as a contract specialist, which included visiting contactor job sites on many atolls in the South Pacific. She retired in 1996 and moved to Rio Rancho.
Louella loved nature and the great outdoors of the southwest U.S. She spent many weekends and vacations camping, hiking and exploring throughout New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Colorado with good friends and fellow enthusiasts. Downhill and cross-country skiing were enjoyable to her, also. She was an avid reader, bridge player, gardener and church member.  She was a great cook and fed the homeless community on weekends for many years.  Her family across the country was very special to her, especially the numerous nieces, nephews and cousins from the Stonebraker family:  Sandy Teeple, Tricia Kallio, Larry Joe Stonebraker, Kathy Zwibelman, Ernie Stonebraker and Sally Stonebraker, all with whom she developed a special bond. Louella was extremely proud of her children Cheryl, David and Louanne as they grew up, earned college degrees, and started their own families and successful careers. She was so tickled to meet her great grandson after his 2016 birth.
Louella is preceded in death by her parents, Myrte (Kost) and Dallas Stonebraker, brother Wilfred Stonebraker and sister Elmyrna Dean.  She is survived by daughter Cheryl and husband Fred Lété of Rio Rancho, son David (Dave) Mathews of Albuquerque, daughter Louanne and husband Demetrius Gianopoulos of Castle Rock, CO, grandchildren Atalie Taziri, Cameron Rhodes, Taylor Mathews, Emma Mathews and Suzanne Warren, great grandchildren Quintinn, Matthew, Megan, Yesenia and Serena.
A celebration of life will be held on Thursday, June 15th, at 10:30 a.m., Calvary Chapel of Rio Rancho, 138 Frontage Rd NE, Rio Rancho, NM.  Please visit our online guestbook at www.danielsfuneral.com.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Calvary Chapel of Rio Rancho.