Mary Margaret Chamberlain

Mary went to meet her savior on January 14, 2025 at the age of 98 at home with family by her side. She was born on September 3, 1926 to Mary C Newman and Harry Rohde in Clovis, California. Her mother passed away when Mary was 9; her father passed away when she was 16. The family of a close friend, Betty Anderson, invited her to live with them and she joyfully accepted. They lived in Auberry, California, where Mary attended Sierra High School. It was during that time she met Bob Chamberlain. They were married August 21, 1945. Bob and Mary lived in Burrough Valley, California, where they had a ranch in partnership with Bob’s parents, Charles and Betty Chamberlain. They leased land from the US Forest Service where they pastured cattle during the summer. They spent summers at the cabin until the ranch was sold in 1949, and they moved to Tollhouse, California, where Bob worked for the school system. Early in the 1950’s, they moved to Sunnyside, California, where they had a dairy. They entered into a partnership with Bob and Rees Caswell, and moved to Riverdale, California and expanded the dairy operation. In 1959, the Caswell Chamberlain Dairy in Riverdale was sold and the partnership moved to Carlsbad New Mexico. Later that year, they moved to Bosque Farms. The partnership was dissolved in the mid 1960;s, and Bob and Mary continued to operate the dairy until the early 1970’s. Mary was primarily a homemaker, but during their time in Bosque Farms, she worked as a substitute mail carrier for a few years. She was an avid seamstress and enjoyed making clothes for Janice and Carla It was in the 1970’s that Bob and Mary built and operated Chamberlain’s Pool. Bob was the Police Chief in Bosque Farms, and Mary ran the pool. Years after the pool was closed, Mary enjoyed meeting people who had swam at the pool as children and hearing about how much they enjoyed the pool. Before Bosque Farms was incorporated in 1974, Mary was one of a group of women who served the community as volunteer dispatchers, notifying volunteer firefighters of fire calls. She was very instrumental in the effort to incorporate Bosque Farms. Mary was a member of the First Baptist Church of Bosque Farms, and at the time of her death was the longest active member of the Church. Mary and several women from the Church held weekly bible study sessions at Mary’s house for many years. She enjoyed gardening, and taking care of the yard. After Bob passed away in 2006, she continued to take care of her garden and flowers. She enjoyed spending time with her family and continued to be active in the Church.

Mary was preceded in death by her husband of nearly 61 years, Bob; parents Mary C and Harry Rohde; brothers John, James and Harry (“Bud”) Rohde; niece Sharon Phelps; great great granddaughter Bailey Rae Stevens. She is survived by daughters Janice Grieve; Carla Clayton (Mark); grandchildren Marty Clayton (Tiffany), Marla Stevens (Patrick); great grandchildren Regan Cain (Tyler), Lauren Clayton (Donald Thomas), Colton Clayton; great great granddaughters River Hazel Cain, Mia Rose Thomas; and several nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of Life will be held at First Baptist Church of Bosque Farms, 1370 Bosque Farms Blvd on Sunday, January 26th, at 2:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, a donation to First Baptist Church of Bosque Farms, Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge, or a charity of your choice in Mary’s name would be appreciated.