Cecilia Loya Burciaga

Our beloved Cecilia Loya Burciaga died on June 11, 2025, after 79 years of a life well-lived. We will forever remember her for her quick laugh and sense of humor, her kindness, and her huge appetite. Ernesto Burciaga (Neto or Ernie), her husband of 44 years; her sisters- and brother-in-law are left to miss and remember her. She was the last of her generation in the Loya family and leaves behind many nieces and nephews to mourn her.

A native of El Paso, Texas, she spent her earlier years there and became a wonderful aunt to her nieces and nephews, taking them swimming, picnicking and teaching them to embroider. In the seventies she moved to Los Alamos, where her brother David lived. At her first job in Los Alamos, she befriended Maxine Burciaga. Maxine later connected Cecy with her son, Neto, and the two began dating. Cecy and Neto married in 1981, in David’s house- where the Loyas from Colorado and Texas often gathered to make beautiful family memories.

Cecy and Neto shared a deep love of the natural beauty and history of Northern New Mexico. Cecy took a “retirement job” in the bookstore at Bandelier National Monument where she enjoyed sharing her knowledge of the area with visitors. The two of them also spent much of their free time together capturing history and beauty through Neto’s photography and Cecy’s weaving. Until arthritis stopped her, Cecy continuously worked to improve her craft and learn from local experts, and she became a [master weaver]. After she could no longer work the loom, she taught others how to do so.

In later years she became an active member of the Los Alamos Senior Center and often volunteered. She enjoyed going in for lunch and making new friends.

Services are pending at this time.