Obituary of Joy Rosslyn McGuckin

Native New Mexican, Joy Rosslyn (DeGraftenried) McGuckin was born on August 24, 1924 and died peacefully in her Albuquerque home on January 24, 2012. She was 87. She was preceded in death by husband Stanley "Mac" McGuckin and two grandsons. They had six children. Kathleen Whicker, Genevieve Vierra, Michael P. McGuckin, Donald McGuckin, Timothy McGuckin and Mary McGuckin, all born in NM, nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Joy is survived by her sister Jeanne Jones of Belmont, California formerly of Albuquerque, NM. Joy was raised on one of the largest cattle ranches in New Mexico. Her parents, Rosser P. and Hattie DeGraftenried also operated an Indian Trading Post on the Navajo Reservation near Gallup, NM when Joy was a child. Her grandparents were some of the first pioneers to settle the vast frontier on the open range, near Melrose, NM. "Buster" (James Irwin) and Texas (Rogers) Degraftenried traveled across the Texas plains, in a covered wagon in the mid 1800's. "Buster" hunted buffalo and lived in Indian country as a young man. He worked with a freighting outfit. "They had seven or eight wagons with seven or eight yolk of oxen to each wagon, and they had a bunch of extra steers. I was hired to drive the steers," he said in an interview of his life story in 1938 at age 73. It was published for the U.S. Works Progress Administration (WPA) from 1936 to 1940.The Library of Congress collection includes thousands of such stories. He was a cowboy for fifty years on a large cattle ranch where he and his wife raised their family. "At one time I branded 7 or 8 thousand calves. That would call for between 16 or 17 thousand head of cattle. Buster would later own that ranch near Melrose, New Mexico. Joy's great-grandparents immigrated from England in the early 1800's, moving westward through the NM territory. They went from North Carolina, to South Carolina, then to Kentucky, and from there to Arkansas and to Texas. Joy met "Mac" during WWII, while he was on his way from New York to California on a U.S. Army troop train, that stopped in Gallup, NM. Joy was working with the USO passing out "treats" to the soldiers. They quickly exchanged addresses that fateful day. During the next three years, while Mac was over seas, they fell in love through many beautiful "love" letters. They were married on January 1, 1946 in Gallup, NM where they began their lives together. Joy and Mac's youngest daughter, Mary Margaret McGuckin cared for her parents until their deaths....Thank you, thank you, Mary.....for eleven years, you did a loving job that no one else could do. We are forever grateful to our "little" sister. May God bless you each and every day....As our mother aged, she never stopped loving nature...Just watching a hummingbird build her tiny nest, in the tree outside her bedroom window one recent spring, brought back memories of her childhood, of life on the ranch. And, the owl who was her friend. Mom knew even to the end, was watching over her. But, the proudest moments were when she'd remind us over and over that she was a "rancher's daughter". Rest in Peace, "Moma Joy"......The good news is, forever, you'll be next to your love, your husband, our Dad....We'll see you and Dad in heaven, farewell......Love, Mike....and love from all of your children....