Retha Gay (Belcheff) Shiplet was the first born to Steve & Alba (Daves) Belcheff on Thursday, October 13, 1949 in Clayton, New Mexico. Her siblings are Larry & Debbie (Yob) Belcheff of Raton, Debbie and Dennis Selvage, Lynette and Frank Butts all of Albuquerque and Steve and June (Campbell) Belcheff of New Braunfels, TX.
She leaves behind many others, including her long time partner, soul mate and husband Dennis, his son Jarrod (Tina). Dennis’s brothers Ron (Louetta) Shiplet and Vern Shiplet.
Nieces and Nephews: Scott (Dede) Belcheff, JoLynn (Steve) Kniffin, Erin (Will) Brett, Sarah Butts, Adam Selvage. Shane, Rusty and Don Shiplet and Cassandra Hummell.
Great Nieces and Nephews: Maiah Torres (JoLynn), Alex Belcheff (Scott), Jarin Shope (Erin) and Alyssa Sandoval (Sarah).
With dignity she passed into the arms of her Lord and all the pain and suffering ceased from the awful disease of cancer that she fought against for months.
She was preceded in ‘end of earthly journey’ by her parents Stephen and Alba Belcheff, two sisters-in-law Karen (Wheeler) Belcheff and Janey (Sandefer) Belcheff and her nephew David Shiplet .
The Belcheff family lived in Springer, where Papa Steve was hired at his second dry cleaning shop. With the help of the in-laws, he was able to purchase it. This little family was off to a great start. They began a loving journey with the birth of five children and countless stories about running around the tiny town of Springer. Steve found another business Zellers Cleaners in Raton where the family would frequent. Our sweet Retha, was a freshman. They moved to the ‘big city’ (as the kids all called it) in 1964 and she graduated from Raton High School in 1967. In high school she was active in band, a flute player and a baton twirler. She was a ticket seller at the movie theater, she also popped popcorn and ate more pickles than she sold. The Belcheff bunch also worked out at the horse races selling tickets, and took turns working at their parents’ shop during the summer. She painted the town several different shades during her youth, making countless lasting memories with friends she kept up with as the years went on.
She moved to Albuquerque with her best friend Judy Dial. She eventually coaxed all of her siblings to follow her down to the actual big city. She was an insurance adjuster and then a legal assistant.
In the mid 70’s she met the love of her life, Dennis Shiplet. They were married on November 10, 1979 in a little surprise ceremony in the desert of Las Vegas Nevada. They lived a very happy life with many dogs and family gatherings at their home they took pride in remodeling, in northwest Albuquerque. They lovingly referred to one another as Scoobie and Jimmy, something that still makes Dennis smile from the heart when he remembers those good times.
Retha took her career very seriously and had many great accomplishments along the way. She spent the following 20 years with Holmes and Narver then retired after 14 years as a human resource officer and COO for Quality NM. After retiring from the corporate world, she did some consulting and office collaboration for different organizations, cities and hospitals. While working for Quality NM she helped with many awards, got to take her sisters to many conferences all over our great nation. Helping others was one of her love languages.
Retha enjoyed Raton, as it was her home, long after she moved to Albuquerque. She spent many family gatherings for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and 4th of July there. When it was time to care for her parents she was there even more often. She also took pride in finding work as a consultant for the town of Raton. She and her sister Lynette made monthly trips for at least two years) to clean out the large family home to be sold off to the next family. It was the end of an era, and just less than a year ago.
Retha devoted her life to family, the Lord and her work, helping and encouraging everyone as much as she could. She loved to share the word of the Lord’s light with anyone, including her nieces when they were young, often picking them up for church services and lunch on Sundays. She gave her all and at one time facilitated Life’s Healing Choices for Women.
Don’t forget her passion for studying genealogy, her primary hobby for years. Volumes and volumes of information and photos, she loved sharing this information as she found the internet to be full of family history. One highlight was her grandmother and great-grandmother were scheduled on the Titanic but illness kept them from boarding. They eventually made it to Ellis Island and the rest is history. Debbie, Retha, Lynette and Alba were able to travel together and take many trips back East to work on for a long love affair with genealogy. Alba was the note taker and Retha started her wall of albums.
A Funeral Service will be held Friday, July 15, 2022 at 9:30 a.m., FRENCH – Westside, Albuquerque. The burial will be held on Saturday, July 16, 2022, at 12:00 p.m., Sofia, New Mexico.
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