Maria Luisa Sanchez Miranda-Newcomb

In passing, Maria Luisa Sanchez (Miranda) Newcomb, 69, of Wink, TX made her final ascent from this world on Saturday, January 20, 2024 at 2:35 PM in Pecos, TX. In the early hours of January 27, 1954, Maria was welcomed into this world in El Paso, TX by her parents Julian Sanchez and Consuelo R. Sanchez. She was one of seven children in the Sanchez family. Her siblings are Berta Begay, (the late) Julian Sanchez Jr., Alfredo Sanchez, Herman Sanchez, Connie (Fielder) Sanchez, and Monnie Sanchez. She is preceded in death by parents Julian Sanchez, Consuelo R. (Sanchez) Burchard, older brother Julian Sanchez Jr., niece Shayna Sanchez, and sister- in-law Sharon Sanchez. She is survived by her 3 children; Sharon R. Keith, Ana L. Aaron, Michael E. Miranda, grandchildren; Megan Bieschke, Cassidy and Nate Keith, Jakob Aaron and Hanna (Aaron) Gonzalez, Jayden G. Miranda, Hagan M. Miranda, Kaden J.C. Miranda, her siblings; Berta, Fred, Herman, Connie, and Monnie, several nieces and nephews, a handful of great grand-children, and her husband; George Newcomb. As a child, Maria grew up on a remote, west TX ranch, (the Rustler Springs), where she and her siblings enjoyed the vast and rugged landscape, making it their playground with vivid memories of cowboys, cattails, and cottonwoods. She attended grade school in Toyah, TX where she received many awards and honors, and was voted “Most Beautiful” in high school. In her late teens, Maria fell in love with a young cowboy, Theodore Miranda, and they soon married. Little did she know that her husband’s camp house, was her beloved “Rustler Springs” where she would return to start a family with the birth of her first child, Sharon Rebecca. Though the love of ranch life kept her and her family out of town, the financial struggles that seem to accompany the lifestyle made “town” life and the promising oil field a bit more appealing. She and her family moved to Wink, TX in the early 1970’s where Maria would soon add to her small family, a daughter, Ana, and soon after, her youngest, a son, Michael. She and her family became members of the Church of Christ in Kermit, TX where Maria and her husband would serve by giving to those less fortunate and driving and picking up children in the community for Sunday worship on the “Joy Bus”. With the challenging times, a divorce, and the responsibility of 3 growing children, Maria set out to support her family. She began with low-paying jobs, cleaning houses, caring for the elderly, and then decided to put herself through college to give her children and herself a better life. Determined to accomplish her goals, she sacrificed much time away from her children to pave a better way for all. She attended Odessa College and graduated from the University of Texas in the Permian Basin 3 1/2 years after starting her college career. She attended weekend, night, and summer school to achieve her goal where she earned honors into Phi Theta Kappa and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BA of Arts in Education and a minor in Geology. Upon her college graduation, Maria pursued a teaching career where she taught in the Ector, Kermit, and Pecos-Barstow Independent School Districts and was nominated “Teacher of the Year” on more than one occasion. Her failing health forced her into early retirement. Though her health continued to diminish, Maria had always enjoyed writing and had a great passion for hunting arrowheads. So, she devoted her time to writing short stories, poems, visiting her grandchildren, Mom’s Obituary Cont’d and hunting arrowheads on the weekends with her good friend, George, who would later become her husband. As a writer and poet, Maria was awarded the “Editor’s Choice Award” from the National Library of Poetry in 1991 and 1993, and wrote a NY Time’s “Best Seller”, “American Money & the Flow of Illegal Immigration on the Rio Grande”. She dedicated her book to her late brother and “great friend, whom I miss very much”, Julian Sanchez, Jr. Maria’s zeal for life was in her family, her rocks and arrowhead collection, in writing and telling stories, teaching the youth of tomorrow, her dogs, and in her profound Faith. Funeral services will be held at the Pecos Funeral Home Chapel on Saturday, January 27 at 10 AM. There will be a viewing with the family, Friday evening, January 26th, from 6-8 pm. Following the service, Maria will be transported to Toyah Hill Top Cemetery west of Toyah, TX where there will be a brief graveside memorial, and lunch provided for all at the Toyah Community Center. 

Visitation will be held at Pecos Funeral Home from 9 am to 8 pm Friday, January 26, 2024 and a family and friend gathering from 6 pm to 8 pm.

Chapel Service will be held at Pecos Funeral Home on Saturday, January 27,2024 at 10 am, with Interment following the service at the Toyah Cemetery in Toyah, Texas.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks your consideration in making a donation to a non-profit, The Buck ‘N Cancer Foundation, which gives all proceeds to those struggling with cancer through rodeo and “bronc riding”. Please go to funeral home website to share memories and condolences.