Born to Santiago Madrid and Theodora Sandoval in Governador, NM. She was the youngest of 10 siblings, and, as a toddler, survived the diphtheria epidemic, which took 5 of her siblings. She was a beautiful, delightful, spirited child; a gifted athlete, dancer and singer. At age 18 she married Larry Sánchez of Farmington, NM and traveled with him to Europe while he undertook his military service and they started a family. Divorced from Larry, she moved several times until she found herself in Oakland, CA and began working for the BLM as a federal employee.
She met William (Bill) E. Fields while in California. They returned to New Mexico in 1969 and settled in Santa Fe and were married and cared for their children together. She always worked full time (and more) and retired as a federal employee from the National Park Service in 1988. At that time she began fulfilling her dreams of travelling the world and pursuing her artistic interests. She became a realtor and a wholesaler of gems and fine jewelry and travelled widely within the southwest USA as well as internationally. She also enjoyed and became quite skilled at gardening and plant care as well as various artistic media including dancing, painting and pottery. She pursued her spiritual inquiry through the Course in Miracles and remained active in various congregations in Santa Fe until she started her journey with vascular dementia, which took her life after a courageous 10 year battle.
Prisilla was a trailblazer for women of her generation who chose to divorce, develop a career and define herself outside of being a wife and mother. Her children would like to give special thanks our extended families and friends who cared for and supported them through the years. Also, special thanks to the dozens of committed caregivers who gave so many hours of service to her in her final 4 years, especially Martha Felix, Aaron Wofford, and Diana Catanach of Legacy of Santa Fe.
She is preceded in death by her parents, and all of her siblings Effie Jácquez (Paul), Leva Pacheco (Criseldo), James Madrid (Kay). She is preceded in death by her baby daughter, Anita Sánchez; husband, William E. Fields; step-son, Robert Fields; son, Larry Craig Sánchez and his wife, Barbara (López), of Blanco NM; and granddaughter, Kami Kiesov of Santa Fe.
She is survived by her children and step-children: Nicholas Sánchez of Santa Fe, Rose Sánchez, Jimmy Sánchez (wife, Emily Lucero), Antonio (Brian) Sánchez of Dixon, Crystal Fields of San Antonio, Frank Fields of Tucson and Wendy Fields-Montoya of Tucson.
Survivors also include grandchildren: Andre Sánchez, Michelle Martinez (Daniel), Jennifer Sánchez, Victoria Sánchez, Maya Cordova, Veronica Lucero, Santiago Sánchez y Lucero, Soledad Sánchez y Lucero, Kristi Kay Torres, Karen Jo Fields, Nicole Wilcox, Jessica Fields, Riesha Fiorina, Rachael Bransford and great-grandchildren: David Torres, Anna Torres, Gabriel Fields, Lauren Ronstadt, Charlotte Ronstadt, Sean William “Bill” Fields, Ryan Fields, Gary Méndez, Micah D’Angelico, Christian Bransford, Daniel Martinez, Diego Martinez, Dominic Martinez, Marlo Payne, Hayden Duncan and Audrey Duncan.
Services will be on June 14th at 11:00am with reception to follow. If you plan on coming, please contact Jimmy or Rose for further details. Private burial will take place at the National Cemetery at a later date.
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