CY US Navy, Esther Adeline Branch Sanchez

Esther Adeline Branch (Sanchez) enlisted in the United States Navy Women Accepted for Volunteer Service (WAVES) in April of 1943. ¹ She was sent to Hunter College in New York City for training. ² On July 19, 1946, she was honorably discharged with the rank of Chief Yeoman. For her service, she was awarded the Victory Ribbon, the American Campaign Ribbon, and the Good Conduct Ribbon. ³

Branch Sanchez was born in Roy, New Mexico to Virginia C de Baca Branch and Albert P. Branch. She grew up on the family ranch in Newkirk, New Mexico where she learned to cook, sew, garden, and work with cattle and other livestock. ⁴ Her father, Albert P. Branch, was a rancher and the Guadalupe County Sheriff in 1938 and her mother was a teacher. ⁵ To her, the “Ranch” was her home and she loved to return as often as possible. ⁴ Esther was a 1938 graduate of Santa Rosa High School and was chosen to represent Santa Rosa at the El Paso Sun Carnival. ^{6, 7} After high school, she attended New Mexico A&M College in Las Cruces and majored in Business Administration. ⁸

After being honorably discharged from the military, Branch Sanchez returned to the family ranch in Newkirk. ⁵ In 1949, she was a stenographer in Santa Fe. There she married Dr. Phillip Sanchez, a dentist, on February 2, 1950. ^{4, 8} Branch Sanchez was involved with The Cathedral Basilica of St. Frances of Assisi and St. Francis School. She was a retired state employee who worked for the Game and Fish Department and the State Corporation Commission where she served as the Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent of Insurance.