"DEAREST MAE..." A Journey of Love and Family

Dearest Mae is a memoir written by Jane Rodgers Mechenbier about three generations of her family. The narrative describes the early marriage of her grandfather, John Beaven, an entrepreneur in Albuquerque, New Mexico in the late 1800's and early 1900's, and her grandmother, Mary Alice. The story later focuses on her mother, Teresa Mae Rodgers, in her life moving from social butterfly to wife and mother of thirteen, from widow at 49 to caregiver and matriarch. Much of the story is told in over 140 letters dating from 1911 through the 1970's, including love letters from Jane's father, Edward Rodgers, to her mother after their engagement.