[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E165]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING THE LIFE OF MARGARET ``MARG'' VENEKLASEN

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. TERESA LEGER FERNANDEZ

                             of new mexico

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 26, 2025

  Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and 
celebrate the life of Margaret ``VK'' VeneKlasen (Margaret Lorraine 
Bombasaro)--lovingly known to her family and friends and the broader 
Santa Fe, New Mexico community as Marg.
  It is hard to know where to start in honoring the life, achievements 
and contributions of this unstoppable renaissance woman who transformed 
our city and our state for the better over the almost 70 years she gave 
us. A fierce leader and advocate for women and girls, realtor, 
entrepreneur, skier, flight attendant, tap dancer, athlete, matriarch, 
icon, and Santa Fe Living Treasure.
  Marg often said ``It's better to be true to yourself than be 
popular.'' And true to herself she was--although beloved she was for 
it.
  Born in 1927 to a tight-knit, union, Italian immigrant family in 
Joliet, Illinois, Marg was a young athlete who started her career as a 
stewardess for United Airlines. It was on a flight that she met Walter 
Paepcke, who invited her to his new Aspen Ski Resort in Colorado--which 
is where she discovered two of her great loves: skiing and her future 
husband, Gordon VeneKlasen.
  Marg and Gordon, a geophysicist and WWII veteran, were wed in 1953, 
and shared their love of New Mexico and each other until his passing in 
1998. They moved to Santa Fe in 1956, where Marg met her next love: our 
Santa Fe mountains. She wrote in her journal at 94: ``I see the ski 
mountain from my window and check on it every morning. I gave up skiing 
this year, but the mountain is where my heart is.''
  True to her life-long love of sports--which she encouraged all of her 
five children to pursue--Marg was committed to making sports accessible 
to all New Mexican children, regardless of their background. In 1973, 
she co-established the Santa Fe Public School Ski Program, which helped 
40,000 Santa Fe public school children learn to ski. In the 70's, 80's, 
and 90's, she built and led the Northern New Mexico Soccer Club (now 
known as the Northern Soccer Club), and through her leadership, in 
1981, girls soccer was sanctioned as a varsity sport in New Mexico.
  Marg championed ``everyone watches women's sports'' before it was 
cool. She herself was an accomplished tennis player, skier, and 
golfer--she was the first woman to serve on the FIFA National Rules 
Committee and fought for girl athletes to have access to public playing 
fields across sports.
  A successful real estate broker for over 40 years, she co-founded 
VeneKlasen Property Management with her husband Gordon, which they ran 
together for almost 30 years, with a commitment to employing local 
workers and paying decent wages.
  Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe named Marg ``Person of the Year'' for her 
commitment to protecting the traditional culture and wellbeing of the 
city.
  A champion for women and girls throughout her life, she served on the 
boards of Girls, Inc. and the Santa Fe Rape Crisis Center.
  In 2002, Marg was asked by the late Governor Bill Richardson to carry 
the Olympic Torch on its last prestigious leg of its journey: lighting 
the Olympic bonfire on Santa Fe Plaza.
  On January 22, 2025, at the age of 97, Marg passed away peacefully in 
her beloved home of 62 years.
  Today, we include Marg's name and accomplishments into the Record. In 
the words of one of her sons, Garrett, ``She taped wings on people and 
made them into who they were.'' We add our gratitude for the many 
flights of possibility New Mexicans took because of her generosity and 
love for our whole state. It is my honor to enshrine her contributions 
to our state, culture, and economy in history.

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