Audrie Clifford with her husband, Michael.

2/17/1934 – 4/22/2022

Audrie Clifford was born in Glendale, CA. In her lifetime, she lived in Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona, loving New Mexico the best for its “unpretentious people, houses built of mud, and the best green chile.” She and her husband, Michael, looked for a small New Mexico town and moved from Santa Fe to Reserve, NM. Finding a need to be part of the community, Audrey ran for the town council, and she won her second try. She also became Mayor, serving for three years.

With her love of writing, she became a correspondent for the Catron County Courier. Her first story reported on a $4 million bonfire hosted by the county Sheriff. She wrote for the paper until it closed down.

When Audrey and her husband left Reserve and moved to Socorro, Michael convinced her to continue writing, and Audrey joined a local writers’ group. She had nine books published, the first one written about their time in Reserve titled “Another Damn Newcomer.”

She writes of her defeats and successes as a mayor, and some residents still remember Audrey’s invitation to the whole town for her annual Halloween costume party. All nine books are in both the Reserve and Socorro public libraries. I recommend starting with her first book, “On Living in Reserve.”

Reading her books is second best to having had a conversation with this great lady.

Survivors include her daughter Patricia, two sons, Michael and Phillip, a grandson Abraham, and Asher, a great-grandson.

El Defensor Chieftain