Ina Mae Ance

At the age of 102, Ina Mae Ance entered the beautiful world with the Great Spirit on October 2, 2010. She was of Laguna Pueblo and Winnebago Native American Heritage. She was born on May 30, 1908 in Denver, Colorado to Hugh and Leora May (Purdy) Sousea. When she was five, the family moved to Shiprock, New Mexico where her father was hired to repair the boarding school buildings damaged in the San Juan River flood. Because there was no school for the employee's children, Ina Mae along with her older brother and younger sister were home schooled by her mother. When she was ten years old, she contracted the deadly flu during the 1918 epidemic. After several months in the hospital and without the aid of antibiotics, she recovered. After she graduated from the eighth grade, her father, a graduate of Carlisle Indian School, enrolled her in the Haskell Institute in Lawrence, Kansas and requested she take classes in the Normal (Teacher's) Department along with her regular classes. He wanted her to be a teacher like her mother. In 1927, she began her 51-year teaching career at Crownpoint Boarding School on the Navajo reservation. Her starting salary was $1,080 a year, a huge amount for this nineteen-year-old. With the passing school years, she was given experience in other classes but she taught mostly kindergarten, first, and second grades. She played the piano for assembly, glee club, holiday programs, and graduations. Later, she helped conduct teacher workshops and assisted the special education supervisor with music programs. Many of her students became successful in their professions. They include a former Tribal Chairman and a former Tribal Education Director. She taught several famous artists how to write their names in her kindergarten class. Many Code Talkers experienced her teaching skills before joining the Marines. However, she was most proud of her students that became educators. During her teaching career, Ina Mae saw Navajo children break the language barrier. The majority of her first students didn't speak English and they were older, some taken away from their families by police. When she retired in 1978, she was teaching descendants of her first students and some spoke English better than their parents. In her final year, she was honored by the Eastern Navajo Agency with Ina Mae Ance Day and a stone monument in front of her beloved Crownpoint Boarding School was dedicated to her. At that ceremony, the principal stated that she had taught more Navajo children than any other teacher on the reservation. Over a thousand students had passed through her hands. Her father's choice for Ina Mae was a good one. She was grateful to be able to help her fellow Native Americans by instilling in them the importance of education. In 1929, Ina Mae married Julius B. Ance, a member of the Chippewa-Ottawa tribe and also a Haskell graduate. He was a baker and his bread and cookies were favorites of the students. After her retirement, Ina Mae and J. B. moved to Las Cruces. She was a frequent visitor to the downtown Farmer's Market where she made many friends among the vendors. Over the years, she won many awards for crocheting, Indian dolls, and canned goods at the Southern New Mexico State Fair. It was the late Rob Steinmetz who first named her the "Energizer Bunny" after she thanked him for a rigorous Physical Therapy workout. Thereafter, this name was often associated with Ina Mae because of her perseverance and high energy. She was a season ticket holder to the Aggie basketball games and among her most prized possessions were the balls signed by the coaches and players. She is predeceased by her parents, her siblings, Clarence and Emma, her husband, and a grandson, Aaron Webb. Family members left to mourn her passing are her daughter Dorothy and her husband Lee Webb, her grandson Ben Webb and his wife Jennifer and four great grandchildren, Daniel, Jacob, Joshua, and Samantha. Peter Alvarez was like a son to her and his family were thought of as her own. For the past seven and a half years, she resided at the Heritage Assisted Living Facility where she was well cared-for. Ina Mae was a member of St. Andrews Episcopal Church and the Haskell Alumni Association. She was a great teacher. Not only to her many students, but all who met her learned a lesson. In lieu of flowers, the family would like donations to go to either of these two organizations: The Aggie Athletics Fund, NMSU Foundation, Inc., P. O. Box 3590, Las Cruces, NM 88003 or The Haskell Foundation, 155 Indian Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66046. The visitation service will be held Friday, October 8, 2010 from 5 to 7 p.m.at Getz Funeral Home, corner of Solano and Bowman Ave., Las Cruces. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, October 9, 2010 at St. Andrews Episcopal Church, 518 N. Alameda Blvd. at 10:00 a.m. The committal service will follow at Masonic Cemetery followed by a social gathering at the church. Serving as casket bearers are Michael Valenzuela, Roy Hendrix, Arthur Romero, Wilfred Nez, Daniel Romero, and Jacob Webb. PDF Printable Version