Marguerite (Marge) Pearl Kreiss Najarian

Marguerite was born in Sacramento, California to Earl and Pauline Kreiss. She graduated from El Cerrito High School (Class of 1962) and attended Sacramento State College in 1963. After eloping in Taos, New Mexico (m. Ralph Najarian 1964-1988) she resided in Albuquerque, New Mexico (1964-1974) where she started raising a family, and later in Pueblitos, New Mexico (1974-2018) where she was simultaneously a full-time homemaker and full-time student while she earned a Bachelor of General Studies from UNM (Phi Beta Kappa, Class of 1983), a Hospital Unit Secretary Certification from Albuquerque Vocational Technical School (Class of 1987). She later resided at her daughter Corey’s home in Delta, Colorado (2018-2024) where she passed away surrounded by love. She was 79.

Marge enjoyed many things in her early life including stage and theater. She was an avid Cubs fan and never missed a ball game on TV. She loved music, movies, books, and entertainment. She never met a puzzle she couldn’t solve, was a member of Mensa, and she never went anywhere without her Audubon bird book. She was dedicated to a stable family life and introduced us to a world of life skills and experiences: early childhood education, reading, theater productions, libraries, drive-in movies, ice cream parlors, parades, sewing/costume-making, cooking, budgeting, driving, sports, extra-curriculars like softball, Girl Scouts and 4-H. After her children were grown, she worked full-time at Presbyterian Hospital in Belen and Albuquerque, New Mexico (1988-2008). She was unfailingly supportive of our dreams and goals, and we will miss her forever.

Marge was preceded in death by her sister, Dorothy Ann Reeves (2016); and her parents, James Earl Kreiss (1981) and Pauline Mae Enns Kreiss (1956). She is survived by her daughters, Rhonda Renee Ross (Randall), Polly Ann Najarian (Sergei Javadoff), and Corey Najarian Rice; grandchildren, Nichole, Savannah and Ilana Ross, Audrey, Nicholas and Victor Javadoff, Rhetta and Willon Rice; niece and nephews, Laura Selby (Pat), Roger Reeves (Debbie), James Reeves and their families; and many Kreiss and Enns cousins.

In loving memory, please consider donating to https://www.alz.org/.