Laura Lee Harty

Laura Lee Harty, 89, passed away February 1, 2016. Laura Lee was born April 7, 1926, to Elmo Anicet Frederic and Laura Lee Schexnailder, in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Very shortly thereafter, the family moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where the family grew to four at the birth of her sister, Betty. Laura Lee attended St. Thomas School and St. Agnes Academy, where she was valedictorian of the class of 1944. She then did some college work at Siena College and summer classes at Tulane University; she also worked at Millington Naval Air Station in Memphis, doing supply work during World War II. Laura Lee married W. P. "Pete" Harty on November 16, 1946. They moved to New Mexico in 1948 and had seven children over the following seventeen years. Around raising the family, Laura Lee took classes at New Mexico A&M, studying chemistry, then English, before settling on elementary education as a major. She taught second and third grade at Holy Cross School, located at the downtown St. Genevieve's Church, then for a number of years at Immaculate Heart of Mary School. After her marriage ended, she accelerated her studies, completing a bachelor's degree in 1971. She then taught in public schools, first at Hermosa Heights Elementary, then Valley View Elementary. She continued her education at New Mexico State, receiving masters and educational specialist degrees in reading. In the public schools, she taught third grade and managed reading laboratory and learning (math and language skills) laboratory programs. Active in professional organizations, Laura Lee served as secretary of the Las Cruces Education Association, as president of the Phi Delta Kappa educational honorary at NMSU, and as an active member of both the Alpha Delta Kappa educational sorority and the International Reading Association. She led Brownie and Girl Scout troops and was for many years on the troop committee of Boy Scout Troop 71 at Conlee Elementary School. Laura Lee was an avid sports fan, particularly of college basketball and professional tennis. She closely followed New Mexico State Aggie basketball. The Hartys have had season tickets in the Pan American Center since 1969; Laura Lee continued to attend games through last year. She accompanied several of her children to many conference basketball tournaments from California to Kentucky, and took her grandson John to the Final Four in New Orleans in 1993. Laura Lee loved to make clothing for her children, and in retirement, she dedicated a room of her house to sewing, quilting, knitting, crocheting, and other crafts. She made each of her children, their spouses, and her grandchildren Christmas stockings, updated with charms, pins and trinkets to keep up with their activities. For example, everyone who was on the trip to New York had a pin from the Red Sox-Yankee game we saw at Yankee Stadium added to their stocking that year. She made afghans and "quillows" for all her children, and always had a project underway. Her true joy was her family. She raised seven very different people into adulthood, nurturing each to the best of her ability, encouraging their diverse successes in academics, in music and arts programs, and in Scouting and other extracurricular pursuits. Starting with a project in a summer enrichment class she was teaching, she became interested in genealogy. In retirement, she spent countless hours poring over Louisiana parish (both Catholic and secular parish) records with her niece Connie, eventually tracing her family tree to Europe on several lines, in a few cases reaching back seventeen generations. She left each of her children an album of genealogical charts, accompanied by pictures of the ancestors she could locate and identify. Laura Lee was preceded in death by her parents, by her ex-husband, and by her son, Rice E. Harty. She is survived by her sister, Betty Phillips, of Metairie, LA; by her children: Paula E. Harty of Albuquerque, NM, Brenda A. Thatcher (David) of Queen Creek, AZ, William P. Harty Jr. (Jennifer Munson) of Las Cruces, NM, Linda L. Casavantes (Michael) of Chandler, AZ, Mary Patricia Clark (Richard) of Las Cruces, and Leland T. Harty (Louise) of Gilbert, AZ; by fourteen grandchildren: Dave Thatcher (Amy Nowell) of Alamogordo, NM, Paul Thatcher of Queen Creek, John Converse (Karen) of Albuquerque, Shawna Harty of Alamogordo, Michelle Corbisier (Jordan) of Gilbert, Sarah Draughon (Christopher) of Las Cruces, Robert Clark of Huntsville, TX, Rebecca Silvers (Gary) of Chandler, Jordan Harty of Fort Bragg, NC, Brian Clark of Amarillo, TX, Erin Harty of Colorado Springs, CO, Laura Elizabeth Harty of Las Cruces, Ryan Harty of Orlando, FL, and Stephanie Clark of Las Cruces; and by eleven great-grandchildren: Adina Nowell, Nathaniel Nowell, Alex Converse, Lily Converse, Michael Thatcher, Emerie Corbisier, Allyson Silvers, Kylie Draughon, Sabrina Silvers, Bailey Draughon, and Westley Corbisier. Westley was born on Monday, February 1, 2016. Survivors in her extended family include Betty's children, Ken Phillips, Laura Constance Olister, Denise Brunner, and Steve Phillips of Metairie; numerous Frederic and Schexnailder cousins and their families; as well as sister-in-law Pauline M. Gerrior of Annapolis, MD, brothers-in-law Charles R. Harty, Michael J. Harty, and Richard E. Harty of Memphis and the many descendants of the Harty family. The family extends heartfelt thanks to the leadership and staff of the Homestead unit at the Village at Northrise, where Laura Lee spent her final months. Their care, assistance, and support were important to her and to her family. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial gifts be made to the Laura Lee Harty Scholarship for Student Teaching at the NMSU Foundation, P. O. Box 3590, Las Cruces, NM 88003. The Laura Lee Harty Scholarship helps students embarking on a teaching career (with a preference for returning students or students with children) with the expenses of the final semester before graduation, during which they cannot have paid jobs. A Rosary will be held on Sunday, February 14, 7:00 p.m., at Immaculate Heart of Mary Cathedral; a Funeral Mass on Monday, February 15, 10:00 a.m., at Immaculate Heart will be followed by interment at the Cathedral columbarium. Arrangements by Getz Funeral Home 1410 E. Bowman Ave Las Cruces NM 88001. To sign the local online guest book visit www.GetzCares.com