Janis (Baca) Schwartzenberg 1956-2008

Janis Marie (Baca) Schwartzenberg 23 March 1956 - 9 December 2008

Janis holding me. She was 12 years older than me.

My sister Janis was killed in a car accident on Tuesday. She was a teacher at the Alamo Navajo Reservation school in Alamo, New Mexico.


I consider her my hero. She went back to school and began teaching in her mid thirties. This inspired me to go back to school and become a teacher. She was an excellent instructor. She would often give my wife and me advice on how to be better teachers. She also encouraged us both to keep on going when it seemed to tough to continue.

Janis at home. Probably around Christmas time.

The last time I saw her was for Thanksgiving. We invited her family to our house to celebrate. My wife and I were planning on contacting her soon about Christmas plans. Since my parents' deaths nine years ago, I had been spending Christmas with her family. Christmas will not be the same without her.

From left to right, me (Robert Baca), my sister Cindy, Cindy's daughter Teri, and my sister Janis. At the Route 66 Casino, Janis' favorite hangout.

There is so much more that I could say about her, but right now words escape me.

There is an article in the El Defensor Chieftain, the Socorro, NM paper, about my sister's accident. You can find that article at this link. There is one mistake in the article: she was 52 years old, not 42. She would have been tickled to find out that the newspaper thought she was 10 years younger than she actual was.

I will post her obituary once it comes online.