Born in Chicago, Illinois on August 11, 1958 as the eldest child of Charles Lester Hill of Chicago and Maria (Myra) Magdelena Ortiz of El Paso, Maggie spent her 1st four years within a stone's throw of Wrigley Field, the home of her beloved Cubbies, before moving to El Paso. She graduated from Eastwood High School where she was on the tennis team, and played clarinet in the Troopers Marching Band. She went on to graduate from UTEP with a Bachelors of Science in Psychology.
Maggie met her “lifetime lover,” Stephen Timothy Crye, during college at a party where he challenged her to a game of chess (which she won). After three years of persistent courting by Steve, they married on October 6, 1979 in El Paso and had one daughter, Jewell Maria. Maggie had the ability to do arithmetic calculations in her head with speed that rivaled calculators, a skill that came in handy during her various managerial and bookkeeper jobs. Her passion for music led to her designing a world-class car audio system for her Turbo Celica “The Beast'' and taking it to IASCA competitions across the USA, winning many 1st place and Best of Show awards. She and her Celica were featured in Car Audio magazine. She shared with Steve a love for books, especially SciFi, and together they amassed a library of over 1000 volumes. She was an avid Star Trek fan (a Trekker not a Trekkie!) She studied Roman history in graduate school at UTEP. She and Steve were a faithful, devoted couple until her death after almost 44 years of marriage.
Everyone who knew Maggie will remember her honesty, her integrity and courage, her easy smile, her affinity for bowling, jigsaw puzzles and Scrabble (inherited from her father!), her well-spoken, natural intelligence, her creative ingenuity, her generosity to strangers and family alike, her stubbornness, and her never give up, never surrender approach to life’s challenges. Even after being in and out of hospitals and nursing homes and finally being bedridden by dementia and forced to rely on Steve and nurses for her care, she never complained and was stoic to the very end.
She is survived by her husband Steve, her daughter Jewell and her husband Nathan, her sister Jane Crutchfield and husband Danny, her brother Charlie and wife Laura, her Aunts Terry Masterson and Juanita Brewer, numerous nieces and nephews, and countless relatives in the Ortiz family. Many thanks to the staff and nurses of Grandview Hospice, particularly Carla, Scott, Bertha and Victoria.
A Memorial celebration will be held at the Funeraria Del Angel Restlawn at 8817 Dyer St. at 12:00 pm on
Thursday, September 21 , 2023. Eulogy and Inurnment at Restlawn Memorial Park will follow at 2:00
pm.
Mama Bear, we will think of you often, and with joy. You Lived Long and Prospered.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.FunerariaDelAngelKM.com for the Crye family.
