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Ethel S. Achen, 84, a resident of Fort Sumner since 1996 and a longtime resident of Yeso, died Friday, July 14, 2000 at Providence Memorial Hospital in El Paso, TX, following an illness. Mrs. Achen was born May 11, 1916 in Doretta, San Miguel County, NM, to the home of Albert Oliver Smith and the former Mary Cox. She moved with her family to Yeso at the age of seven. She attended school at Buchanan and Yeso until the eighth grade. She attended and graduated from Fort Sumner High School. Following graduation, she attended Amarillo Junior College, Highlands University, and Eastern New Mexico University. She married Marcel Hubert Bruce Achen on October 22, 1938. Together they ranched at Yeso. The Achen family continues to operate the family ranch. Ethel began her teaching career at Yeso, NM in 1938, a position that lasted 29 years until the school closed in 1967. While teaching at Yeso she was instrumental in organizing the Yeso P.T.A., a Boy Scout Troop, and a 4-H Club. In 1967, she began teaching third grade at the Fort Sumner Elementary School. She taught at Fort Sumner until her retirement in 1973. Throughout her teaching career she was a master teacher, never accepting second-best from a student. She was honored in 1967 as the Masonic Teacher of the Year. She was also elected to the"Hall of Fame" for the Southeast District of the National Education Association - New Mexico. Ethel was a member of NM Education Retirees, she enjoyed playing canasta with her friends and making crafts. She made the most beautiful carpet hangings. Ethel was a longtime member of the First Baptist Church in Fort Sumner. Ethel was preceded in death by her parents; and her husband, Marcel Hubert Bruce Achen in 1978. Survivors include two sons, Jack Achen and wife, Tammy of Yeso, NM, Tyson Achen and wife, Adie of Las Cruces; a daughter, Marcie Salopek and husband, Mark of Las Cruces. Also surviving are eight grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; and an aunt, Laura Smith of Corrales. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, July 18, 2000, from the First Baptist Church in Fort Sumner, NM. Rev. Jim Peabody will officiate. Burial will follow at Yeso Cemetery, Yeso, NM. Pallbearers will be her grandsons, J.O. Achen, Buddy Achen, Brad Achen, Dustin Salopek, Adam Salopek, Casey Achen, and Clayton Scorzafava. Honorary bearers will include Lewis Hisel, Charlie Overton, Paul Horney, Albert Perez, Ted McCollum, Jose Garcia, F.B. Willis, Bob Smith, and all her friends and neighbors. The family prefers memorials to the Ethel Achen Memorial Scholarship Fund c/o Citizens Bank of Fort Sumner, P.O. Box 490, Fort Sumner, NM 88119. The casket will be closed at the church service. Visitation will be Monday, from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., at the Chavez Funeral Home, 804 N. Fifth Street, Fort Sumner, NM, (505) 355-2311.
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