Lately, 83-year-old Mariano Gabino Chávez has spent a lot of time thinking about the mother he never knew.

"I wish I could have known my mother, so that I would have memories of her now," he says. Chávez was 7 months old when his mother, Tonita, was run over by a neighbor's car and killed instantly. Chávez was raised by his father, Mariano Antonio, with the help of his grandparents Mariano and Gertrudis Chávez in Roy, N.M.

His grandparents homesteaded around 600 acres of property in El Carrizo Canyon, northeast of Roy in Harding County, where Chávez and his brother and sister lived. His father never remarried, so the Chávez children grew up fast as they learned to help out with the family ranch.

Life for the Chávez family changed drastically in 1936, amid the Great Depression. They were forced to move to Santa Fe, where Mariano Sr. managed to eke out a living doing construction projects, with his children lending a helping hand.

"When I was a boy, I helped my father build the rock wall at Loretto Academy that's still located on East Alameda," Chávez recalled.

That rock wall, along with the San Jose de Chama Church in Hernandez that was built by Chávez's great-great-grandfather, Miguel Mariano Chávez, are two of the better-known historical structures that that are part of the family's legacy. Some people in Santa Fe may also remember the City Different Furniture store on Galisteo Street, which was run by Chávez's late brother, Eppy, from the 1960s through 1990.

An independent-minded youth, Chávez decided to leave Santa Fe at the age of 11, and hitchhiked with a cousin back to Roy. He lived there with his grandfather until he finished high school. Chávez then moved to Oakland, Calif., where he did sheet-metal work for the war effort before joining the Navy in 1944 at the age of 22. While in the Navy, he worked in communications and was stationed in the Philippines during World War II. After the war, Chávez returned to Santa Fe and attended St. Michael's College until 1950, when he was recalled to serve in the Korean War. In 1953, he married Elizabeth Villalobos and they moved to Las Cruces, where he attended New Mexico State University.

Chávez's career included several years with the New Mexico Highway Department and at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he worked in the engineering departments. He retired in 1982, but continued to do freelance work as an inspector for highways around the state. In the 1990s, he took a class at the Santa Fe Community College in tinwork.

Today, Chávez shares his tinwork creations with friends and family. In 1980, he designed his own home, where his seven children, 17 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren come to visit. His wife died in 1999.

For the past 11 years, Chávez's best friend has been Likko, his black Labrador retriever. Last month, Likko was diagnosed with cancer and died July 20. The loss of his canine companion might be what triggered Chavez's feelings about the mother he never knew.

"I feel so alone now," he said.

Ana Pacheco is the founder and publisher of La Herencia, a culture and history magazine (www.herencia.com, 505-474-2800). Her weekly tribute to our community elders appears every Tuesday.