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1950 Maggie 2024

Maggie Devlyn

March 2, 1950 — March 6, 2024

Albuquerque

Maggie Devlyn (1950 – 2024)

       Maggie Devlyn (Gurley, Simons) passed into her next phase of existence on March 6, 2024 in the company of her loving sisters and many angels. Daughter of Jack and Edith Gurley, Maggie was born in Albuquerque and grew up in New Mexico.


       She attended Manzano High School where she excelled in the band and was a Girl Scout in Troop 13. As a Girl Scout Maggie could saddle and ride any horse, tie knots, apply first aid as needed and cook a pocket stew and a banana boat over a campfire. Maggie could build a one match fire with just gathered wood in the great outdoors, a woodstove or a fireplace.

       Maggie attended UNM and trained as a professional dramatic coloratura soprano, earning a Bachelor’s degree in music. She could speak French like a native, German, English and Italian. She took great care to enunciate clearly and pronounce each word correctly. Two days after graduation she married Patrick Simons and they moved to California where Maggie put Patrick through Law School and she earned her Master’s degree at the University of California. 

        Maggie’s voice was like a force of nature and simply hearing it could bring even non- opera lovers to tears. She starred in many opera productions at the University of California and her performance as Queen of the Night in the Magic Flute is still remembered. Using techniques she acquired as a Black Belt in Aikido, Maggie gave master classes teaching other singers how to reach out and connect with their audiences. Moving to Albuquerque, Maggie worked for HEEL, a German Homeopathic Company and then joined the UNM Department of Pharmacy as the Research and Information Manager. 

         Maggie is survived by her sisters Michelle Butler (Tom) and Sherry Gurley as well as numerous nephews and nieces and grand nephews and nieces and her loving cat Pierre also known as Pioter Myles The Greyling. Maggie had the ability to connect with each person she met and so she had friends among the waiters and waitresses in the restaurant she frequented, (she could only cook a steak on the grill or roast a leg of lamb) her barbers and manicurists as well as clerks in stores and auto mechanics. She knew no strangers. 

A Celebration of Life will be announced at a later date. Memorial contributions may be made to the Women’s Housing Coalition, F.A. T Katz Animal Rescue and Street Cat Hub. Maggie would like all of her friends to know these words from the poet Rumi:

 "Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there”.



Celebration of Life:
Saturday, April 27, 2024

To Begin: 

Celebration-
 1: 00 PM 
  

Services will be held at:

First Unitarian Church 

Located at: 
3701 Carlisle Blvd NE, 
Albuquerque, NM 87110

To send flowers to the family in memory of Maggie Devlyn, please visit our flower store.

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