Esther Perea

Esther Garcia Perea, 77, lifelong resident of Albuquerque, left us to abide in eternal glory after a long illness in the early-morning hours of Monday, February 16, 2026. She duly received the final holy sacrament of the Roman Catholic Church. She was attended by her family and surrounded by her cherished classical music.

She was preceded in death by her parents Fortunato A. (Nato) and Adela T. Garcia, several cherished cousins, as well as many beloved aunts and uncles.

She is survived by her husband of 56 years, Tobias Martin Perea (Toby); two children: Gregg Marcos Perea (Mark) and Kristina Perea Gilmore; grandson Finn Perea Gilmore; son-in-law Cody Gilmore; several cousins and their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Esther was born in Albuquerque and raised in the South Broadway district to a devout and extended Catholic family. In her childhood she attended St. Francis Catholic Church and St. Francis School. She graduated with her diploma from St. Mary’s Catholic High School in 1966 where she met her devoted husband, Toby, to whom she was married in 1969. After starting a family in the 1970s she returned to the University of New Mexico and earned her BBA in accounting and her CPA in 1982, having passed the CPA exam on the first try with a combined top-tier score - a feat achieved by only three others in the history of New Mexico at the time. She went on to a long and successful career in both public and private accounting, having served in several capacities, most notably as a University of New Mexico Foundation accountant and the Bernalillo County budget director. In the process she also earned her MBA at UNM in Public Administration in 2003.

She was devoted to family and exuded love, excitement, and a contagious appreciation for all the beauty, fun, discovery, and fascination that this world and this life have to offer. She was a classical pianist from an early age, but also loved the pop, singer-songwriter, and rock & roll music of the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s - and even the 80s, on the persuasion of us, her MTV-addled, teenage children at the time. She filled our home with life and beauty – something we thanked God for every night in our prayers. She happily encouraged our appreciation of nature and the value of life, teaching us to raise and care for fish in an aquarium, to raise and hatch the canaries that filled the house with music, to grow vegetable gardens, to raise and care for the dogs that always filled our lives with joy – even having sent us to dog-training school. We always looked forward to noon on Saturday growing up, because she made it a weekly tradition to pile us into the car, pick up our nana Adela, make a beeline to Coronado and Winrock to make a day of shopping, getting lunch at the food court, and just wandering around and hanging out carefree, “to go toodle around,” as she merrily loved to say. All the same, she extolled the value of quality education, reading, math, art, sports, dance, and pop culture and brought us all along for the ride.

She loved golf and taking long walks around the UNM North Golf Course near our home. She was a competitive tennis player and a long-time member of the Tennis Club of Albuquerque, around which our family’s health, recreation, and social life was centered. She loved taking us out to eat at all the many great restaurants in Albuquerque, especially the New Mexican ones, like the old Papa Felipe’s at Coronado Center. She loved taking us to Lobo basketball and football games, pulling us out of school by surprise and taking us to lunch, and going to the movies every weekend.

In addition to her own husband and children, she dutifully served, protected, and defended the aging, sick, and elderly members of her family, including her own parents and many of her aunts and uncles. Her kindness, excitement for life, and her inspiration will be sorely missed.

Esther's Life Celebration will begin with a Roman Catholic Requiem Mass on Saturday, February 28, 2026, at 10:00am at Thomas Aquinas Newman Center located at 1815 Las Lomas Road NE, 87106. Esther will be then laid to rest at Mount Calvary Cemetery located at 1900 Edith Blvd NE, 87102.

Pallbearers will be Finn Perea Gilmore, Cody Gilmore, Joseph Lujan, Charlie Atencio, Matthew Atencio, and Dennis Gallegos.

Honorary Pallbearer will be Andrew Atencio.

Please be aware when parking near Thomas Aquinas Newman Center as there are several parking areas that will result in being fined.

Donations to Lustgarten Foundation: Pancreatic Cancer Research ( https://lustgarten.org/get-involved/donate/ ) or the GANNON Clinical Trial of Histosonics Inc. (non-invasive, focused ultrasound destruction of pancreatic tumors) may be made in lieu of flowers.