Maurine McMillan lovingly remembered

She was as feisty as she was passionate and, if you ask anyone who knew her, she always knew what and how to get what she wanted.

Rio Communities resident Maurine McMillan died on Nov. 30, 2025, of natural causes at the youthful age of 98. The small, but mighty woman made history come alive in Valencia County, most notably at the Belen Harvey House Museum.

She was most happy when she wore her Harvey Girl garb, talking about the history of the era and what it meant to work and visit the Harvey House in the Hub City.

“Maurine McMillan led the Belen Harvey House Museum through many years of its early development,” said local historian, author and friend, Richard Melzer. “Thanks to Maurine and her loyal docents, the Harvey House evolved into a major transportation museum and the No. 1 tourist attraction in Valencia County.”

Melzer said Maurine was also a long-time, dedicated member of the Valencia County Historical Society.

“She deservedly received nearly every VCHS award, including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013,” said Melzer.

Maurine was also named Citizen of the Year in 2000 by the Valencia County News-Bulletin for her volunteer work and love of history, education and the community.

“She faithfully attended the Historical Society of New Mexico’s annual conference for many years, even as her health began to fail her,” Melzer remembers.

Maurine was born on Sept. 15, 1927, in central Illinois, and was the oldest of six siblings. After graduating from high school, she went to and earned a mathematics education and home economics degree from Eastern Illinois University, where she met her husband, Dean, who was in the Navy.

Her son, Jim, said his mother taught school — sixth grade — for several years at a small, rural school.

When Dean was offered a job at Los Alamos National Labs, after working with computers for many years with General Electric and Argonne National Laboratories in Chicago, the family moved to New Mexico in 1962.

“When we were growing up, my dad was writing software with 1s and 0s,” Jim said about his father’s work. “He was at the first National Computer Conference. He was definitely at the forefront.”

As Dean worked on perfecting his computer skills, Maurine was still thriving as an educator, and while still in the Chicago area, she was elected to the local board of education, Jim said. When living in Los Alamos, Maureen worked to establish and was the administrator of the Little Forest Preschool, which is still in existence today.

When Dean and Maurine decided to retire, Jim says, they looked around and landed in Rio Communities in the mid 1980s, a place they really liked.

“They liked Los Alamos but it was too cold,” Jim said. “They really liked Rio Communities, and they loved the community.”

It was then that Maurine discovered the Harvey House — a dilapidated building then owned by BNSF Railroad.

“She saw an opportunity to do really great things there,” Jim said. “It was a partial civic center, and there was a small portion of the Harvey House that was a museum and a room for the model railroad exhibit.”

It was then that Maurine found her true passion, and decided to become a guiding force to restore the building and its history. She was also the lead in making sure the structure was placed on both the state and National Register of Historic Places.

“She loved to build and create things, and she loved the Harvey Girl’s story,” Jim said. “When you’re out in the plains in Illinois during The Depression, that’s what you did — rode the trains.”

Wanting to celebrate and honor the history of the building, Maurine’s tenacity paid off. She was able to secure local, state and federal funding, Jim said.

“She was great at chasing funding, and you couldn’t keep her away from her mission,” her son said. “She just loved to be involved.

“She wasn’t shy about asking for money — she would chase it where ever it was,” he remembered. “She was able to enlist volunteers and was the museum director for many years — maybe 20 years.”

In her time at the Harvey House, she became fast friends with a lot of locals, including the team of model railroaders, who recently established the Southwest Model Railroad Museum. The building, located on Second Street next to the Doodlebug, was recently named for Maurine for her “generous donations, kindness and belief in our cause.”

Maurine’s son said his mother was a force to be reckoned with, saying she was able to get whatever she wanted.

“We used to call her the ‘warden,’ because she was always running things and making things happen,” Jim said laughing. “She was a really good person. She was independent, courageous, determined and very opinionated. She would tell people what to do.”

Along with her memberships to the local and state historic societies, Maurine was also involved in the Valencia County Extension Service, the Sunshine Club, the American Association of University Women, the State Embroidery Club and more.

While Maurine was fairly healthy and very active, she had been living at the Center for Ageless Living in Tomé for the last year and a half. Jim said she was still able to get out, go to events and visit with friends.

One of those friends was Ronnie Torres, a local businessman and hairdresser, a former Harvey House tech, Belen mayor and city councilor.

The two first met at the Harvey House more than 25 years ago, and created a friendship that Torres has honored and appreciated since.

“She’s just a very special person,” Torres said of Maurine. “We would talk, and laugh and fight. We would agree and disagree. I remember one time she got so mad at me that she was jumping up and down because she wanted something her way. If you knew Maurine, her way was the only way.”

Torres was enamored by Maurine’s passion for the Harvey House and local history, saying she helped to continue a very important legacy in Belen. He also said she left a lasting impression on him.

“She would come in for years to get her hair done, and even when she was at the Center of Ageless Living, she would call me when it was time to cut her hair,” he said. “I would go in and visit. She was such a good person and she loved this community. I’m going to miss her.”

One of the last times Torres was able to see Maurine was in October at the annual Scarecrow Festival he helps to organize. He said she was so happy to be there, enjoying the festivities with the community she cherished.

Frances Zeller, Harvey House Museum manager, said they are taking donations for a permanent exhibit in Maurine’s memory. It’s a collection of Fred Harvey Chimayo antique weavings.

“We’ve been collecting them, and buying more,” Zeller said. “They’re all antique, all authentic. She wanted donations to benefit the Harvey House.”

If you would like to donate, visit harveyhousemuseum.org, and there is a link to donate any amount.

Maurine is preceded in death by her husband, Dean. She is survived by her son, James “Jim” McMillan and wife, Emma, of Williamsburg, Va.; son, Neal McMillan and wife, Nancy, of Las Cruces; grandson, Matthew McMillan, of Washington, D.C., granddaughters, Christina McMillan, of Raleigh, N.C., Samantha McMillan and great-grandson, Zach McMillan, Michelle McMillan; and great-granddaughters, Reily Norton and Caitlin Norton.

Jim said his mother will be laid to rest with her husband, Dean, at the Guaje Pines Cemetery in Los Alamos, on Saturday, Jan. 3.

Maurine’s family is working on a celebration of life event to coincide with one of her favorite occasions, the Soup ‘R Bowl fundraiser for the University of New Mexico-Valencia Campus and Tomé Art Gallery, which is held every hear on Super Bowl Sunday in February.