Marion B. Jarpe

JARPE – Marion Blair Jarpe, 83, died Wednesday, March 4, 2020 in Rio Rancho, of complications following surgery. Marion is survived by her five adult sons: Stephen (married to Gayle), Michael (married to Alyssa), Geoffrey (married to Victoria Etterer-Jarpe), Matthew (married to Michelle Morris) and Andrew (married to Jenny) and her son-in-law Dan Armijo; her 11 grandchildren: (Alexa (married to Jeremy Leech), Joel, Kyle, Samantha, Dana, Noah, Nicole, Laura, Sarah, Jessica and Zachary) and 1 great grandchild: Ryan Leech, all loved to get visits from "Gram.” Marion is also survived by her brother, Michael (married to Stephanie) and her constant companion for the last 10 years, her chihuahua Tiffany. Marion was preceded in death by her father, Fredrick Blair, her mother Mary Blair, her husband Jay, her daughter Jennifer, her brother Fredrick and her sister Claudia. Marion was born in Vermillion, South Dakota and spent her life travelling. As a child of a Navy doctor she moved often, living in San Diego, San Antonio, and finally settling in Fort Snelling, Minnesota. As a mother of six children she embarked on camping trips everywhere from the Canadian woods to the Rio Grande, eventually visiting all 50 states. In 1974 the family moved to Los Lunas, New Mexico and lived on a small farm until the children moved out. As a retiree she and Jay trekked to Africa, Australia, Peru and Ireland among many other destinations. As a widow she participated in philanthropic missions for the Episcopal church to Uganda, a country that held a special place in her heart. She gave much of her time and energy to the orphans at the Mustard Seed Babies Home in Hoima, Uganda.  Her other philanthropic activities include working in Bluff, Utah with Jay helping the Navajo Nation and working as a mentor for troubled youth in Valencia County. She continued travelling for the rest of her life, attending her grandchildren’s high school graduations from California to Massachusetts, and visited Hawaii this past January, the 50th state she had traveled to. She collected a souvenir from each place she visited and dedicated one wall of her small apartment to a display of shot glasses from around the world.

Marion received her degree in nursing from the University of Minnesota in 1959 and worked as a nurse until her retirement. As a registered nurse she cared for some of the most critically ill patients in the cardiac and intensive care units. She cared for veterans at the VA hospital in Albuquerque for several years. As a teacher she educated nurses at the University of New Mexico and published a research paper in 1992 on caring for patients receiving neuromuscular blocking agents.

Services will be held at St. Francis Episcopal Church in Rio Rancho at a time and date to be arranged and which will be advertised on the Daniels Funeral Home web site (https://www.danielsfuneral.com/listings). Marion's family would like to thank the residents of Affinity at Albuquerque, the worshipers at St. Francis and St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Los Lunas, Lovelace Heart Hospital and the caregivers at Beehive Homes of Rio Rancho for their support and kindness during her last days. In lieu of purchasing flowers, please consider donating to one of Marion's favorite charities, the Mustard Seed Babies Home in Hoima, Uganda.