Maribeth Lyn Ellis Olberding
July 21, 1969 – May 28, 2014
LAS CRUCES, NM – Maribeth Lyn Ellis, 44, passed away May 28, 2014 in Las Cruces, NM after a nine month battle with breast cancer.
A memorial service was at 3 p.m. May 31 at First Christian Church in Las Cruces, NM. A second memorial service was at 2 p.m. June 3 at the First Baptist Church in Richardson, TX. She will be buried in West Plains, MO.
Maribeth was born to Jern Wayne and Virginia Foster Ellis on July 21, 1969 in Dallas.
She grew up in Dallas and graduated from Richardson High School in 1987. She attended Baylor University, where she was a member of Sigma Kappa sorority and took a degree in math education in 1991. She also achieved a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Texas at Dallas.
Maribeth married Bruce Olberding in 1993. She and Bruce lived in Middletown, CT and Monroe, LA before moving to Las Cruces over a decade ago. In Las Cruces, Maribeth worked as a college assistant professor in the department of mathematical sciences at New Mexico State University, where she was much beloved by her students and collegues. She was also and fundamentally a joyful parent to her two daughters, Della Lyn and Lila Kay.
She is survived by her husband, Bruce Michael Olberding; two daughters, Della Lyn and Lila Kay; parents, Jern Wayne and Virginia Foster Ellis, Dallas; three sisters, Paula Lea Ellis Taylor, Lewisville, Jennifer Elaine Ellis Byrd, McKinney and Stephanie Denise Ellis, Dallas; brother, Neil Scott Ellis, Dallas; eight nephews, Ben, Nick and Forrest Taylor, Andrew, Nathan, Peter and Luke Bryd, and Foster and Cooper Ellis; brother-in-law, David Lee Byrd and sister-in-law, Caroline Fogel Ellis; father and mother-in-law, Mike and Kay Prantl Olberding, West Plains, MO; many aunts and uncles including Frances Foster McCarty, Bowie, Jane Foster Brasch Jackson, Marshall, TX and Lois Foster Campbell, Hurst; and many cousins and dear friends. She will be dearly missed.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Cancer Aid Resources and Education (C.A.R.E.), 141 Roadrunner Parkway, Suite 226, Las Cruces, NM 88011, 575-680-5922.
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