Introduction

This is the Genealogy of the Ortiz family from La Cañada de Los Alamos that was traced back to Manuel Antonio Ortiz. The parents of Manuel Antonio have not been confirmed to this date. He could have been a contemporary (DNA results have now shown that he was proably a contemporary) of the three sons of Nicolás Ortiz II, and therefore, most likely, his nephew, the son of Antonio, Luis, or Francisco, about whose lives so little is known. Pedro Ortiz de Escudero was a totally different Ortiz, yet perhaps related to his contemporary, the original Nicolás Ortiz. In Santa Fe, January 6, 1716, he asked for permission to leave New Mexico and return to New Spain. Whether or not this permission was granted is not known. If he stayed, Manuel Antonio Ortiz could well have been his son. Below is a compilation from various resources. Many of the names below change spelling because of the way they were shown in the actual records, which will be added in the near future. Most of the research was performed at the Genealogical and Southwest History Library in Albuquerque, New Mexico on the corner of Edith and Central and the National Hispanic Cultural Center of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico on the corner of 4th Street and Bridge.

Nicolás Ortiz, a native of Zacatecas, was a sixteen-year-old soldier who came to New Mexico around the year 1634. He gave his age as twenty-four in 1642. He had married María de Bustillo, niece of Antonio Baca, whom he accused of indifelity with Governor Rosas while he was away with the Santa Fe-Mexico City wagon train. Nicolás murdered the Governor on January 25, 1642. After being tried and acquitted in Santa Fe, he was sent to Mexico City for a final verdict; arrested on the way by the Governor of Nueva Vizcaya, he was re-tried and sentenced to hang. However, he escaped from prison and was not heard of again. It seems as though he had no children by María de Bustillo, yet one single witness at his trial does refer once to their children.

Some women who bore the name "Ortiz" in this century belonged to the Baca family, thus carrying on the name of the first Baca's wife, Ana Ortiz. Still, one or more of these could have been María de Bustillo's children by her husband-or even by Governor Rosas, for she was visibly pregnant when Ortiz returned from Mexico City in 1642.
 

Nicolás Ortiz and his wife, Doña Mariana Coronado, joined the new colonists with their family of six in 1693. At Zacatecas, on November 30, he was referred to as a Sargento with a family of seven, but the other Velasco list shows him as a civilian colonist, not as a soldier, and with only six children. A girl by the name of Ana, six years old, must have died before the caravan started north from Zacatecas.

This was the description of the family. Nicolás Ortiz, forty, son of the same and born in Mexico City, of medium height, with a sharp nose, large eyes and baldhead. His wife was the daughter of Francisco Hernández, and born at Jimiquilpa; she was twenty-eight, with a broad face and a mole on the cheek.

Their six children were:

Josefa fourteen, born in Pachuca, having a dark aquiline face, a high forehead, and a sharp nose
Manuela three, born in Mexico City, with a ruddy aquiline face, black eyes, and a small nose
Nicolás ten, born in Mexico City, having a freckled aquiline face, a high forehead, and a broad nose
Antonio eight, born in Mexico City, reddish, with a rather thick nose and large eyes
Luis six, born in Mexico City, reddish, with big eyes and a small flat nose
Francisco one, born in Mexico City, white and ruddy, with an aquiline face and large eyes
Sebastiana Ortiz, twenty-seven, wife of Ignacio de Aragón, was also a daughter of Nicolás and a native of Mexico City. Therefore, in all likelihood, she was a sister of Nicolás Ortiz.

Nothing more is known about the parents, girls, and very little about the sons, except Nicolás II.

Antonio Ortiz deeded his Santa Fe house to his brother Nicolás II Ortiz in 1714.

Luis Ortiz, with Bernardino Fernández, was sent to Mexico City in 1714, to take a convicted murderer for final disposition. The prisoner escaped on the way, and when Ortiz returned with the news he was jailed. He and a Nicolás Ortiz went together as soldiers in the Moqui campaign of 1716.

Francisco (Nicolás) Ortiz was banished with his family to the post of Bernalillo by Governor Cuervo in 1705.

Nicolás Ortiz II, "Niño Ladrón de Guevara," used this lengthy name in 1720, when he appeared as a nuptial witness at the age of thirty-seven. He used it again in his last will, applying it also to his departed father. Here he gave his mother's name as María Ana de Vargas Barba Coronado. On November 12, 1702, he married Juana Baca at Bernalillo. They were sponsors at Bernalillo for some Apache captives in 1705. In 1713, he was a Captain of the Santa Fe militia, but in the 1716 Moqui Campaign he is designated as an ordinary soldier (but this Nicolás might have been a younger Nicolás, perhaps the son of Luis Ortiz, with whom he was listed). In this year Nicolás had received permission to go on a trip outside New Mexico.

Nicolás had received a citation for military valor in 1697 from Governor Vargas himself; it stated that he had come from Mexico City to "this Kingdom" as a colonist in 1693, when he was twelve year old; that in 1696 he had distinguished himself at the battles of the Black Mesa, of the Mountain of Taos and Picurís, during the Ute attack at the San Diego de Jémez Mesa, and also at Chimayó and the Cañada of Santa Clara.

Nicolás, who was well established in Santa Fe, acquired many pieces of property, among them a house directly in front of the Church of St. Francis; he was also involved in some property suits. His widow and sons sold their more important site to Governor Codallos in 1746 to clear the space in from of the parish church. Nicolás Ortiz II made his last will in 1742, naming his parents, his only wife, and their three sons: Francisco, Nicolás III, and Toribio.

Before her marriage to Ortiz, Juana Baca had an illegitimate daughter, Ana María, who married a José Griego; he must have died young, for his widow was only twenty-six when she died on June 27, 1729.

Manuel Antonio Ortiz was a contemporary of the three sons of Nicolás Ortiz II, and therefore, most likely, his nephew, the son of Antonio, Luis, or Francisco, about whose lives so little is known.

Pedro Ortiz de Escudero was a totally different Ortiz, yet perhaps related to his contemporary, the original Nicolás Ortiz. Pedro was a silversmith born in Oaxaca, the son of Pedro Ortiz Escudero and Lucía de Quiñones. He was twenty when he married Ana Páez Hurtado, daughter of Juan Páez Hurtado by his first wife. The wedding took place in Santa Fe, January 6, 1716, he asked for permission to leave New Mexico and return to New Spain. Whether or not this permission was granted is not known. If he stayed, Manuel Ortiz could well have been his son.

Manuel married Marcelina de la Vega y Coca, on November 6, 1735. The father of Marcelina was Miguel de la Vega y Coca (born in 1677 in Mexico City and died about 1758). Miguel first married Manuela Manuela de Medina and had a daughter Feliciana. He then married Maria Montoya on April 13, 1699 in Santa Fe. Their children were Maria (married a Baca); Apolonia, Isabel, Leonarda (married T. Ortiz); Francisca (married a Tenorio); Margarita (married a Tenorio) and Marcelina Antonia who married Manuel Antonio Ortiz. Their known children were as follows:

Manuel José born May 11, 1748
Manuel Antonio born December 28, 1749
Mateo Mauricio born September 6, 1750
Ana María Monica born May 13, 1752
Salvador Manuel born April 14, 1754

After his wife's death Manuel married Tomasa Romero, a widow, on May 3, 1757. Tomasa Romero was married to Luis Febro who is believed to have died before 1757, a relatively young man at the age of thirty-seven. Manuel and Tomasa had at least four children before she died on September 5, 1779. Their known children were a follows:

Ventura José born July 20, 1758
Manuel Antonio born February 2, 1760
José Antonio born July 14, 1762
José Alejandro born in 1764

According to the Mormon site José Antonio had a brother Manuel Joseph baptized on May 11, 1748 at St. Francis Parish in Santa Fe and another brother Manuel Antonio baptized there on December 28, 1749.

According to the Santa Fe burial books, Manuel Ortiz, widower of Marcelina Bega, then married to Tomasa Romero was buried on September 5 1769. The same files also list the burial date of Marcelina Vega, wife of Manuel Ortiz, as February 11,1758.

José Antonio Ortiz was born in Santa Fe around 1746 and died in Santa Fe on August 10, 1784 in Sierra Magdalena. He married Juana Rosalia Lopez in Santa Fe around 1775 at about the age of 25. Juana was born on February 11, 1750, as noted in the Santa Fe baptisms. She was the second child born to Geronimo Lopes and Maria Gertrudis Montaño who married in Santa Fe on August 25, 1737. José and Juana were married for about 20 years before José died and she remarried. Their known children were as follows:

Antonio José born April 30, 1775, married Rafaela Gutierrez. She was the daughter of Antonio Gutierrez and Eulalia Ulibarri de Anaya
José Antonio born around 1777 married Gertrudes Roibal. She was the daughter of Matias Roibal and Feliciana Quintana
José Miguel born on May 20, 1777, married Getrudes Lovato. She was the daughter of Augustine Lobato and Balveneda Armijo.
José Viterbo born about 1779
Blas Antonio born before 1785

According to the list of Colonial Patriots, José Antonio Ortiz enlisted January 11, 1779 and participated in the Sonora Expedition in 1780-1781. He was a tailor and the son of soldier Manuel Antonio Ortiz and Marcelina de la Vega y Coca of Santa Fe. His wife was Juana Lopez who remarried to Bernardo Martinez on September 24, 1785 after his death. He has some Ortiz first cousins, Francisco Xavier and Joseph Miguel (sons of Torivio Ortiz - doesn't seem to be Manuel's brother and Leonarda Coca - Marcelina's sister according to the New Mexico database).

Juana Rosalia Lopes was widowed fairly young at about the age of 30 and later remarried to Bernardo Martinez on September 24, 1785. This means that Juana Rosalia must have been very young, about 14 or 15 years old, when she married José Antonio. Her marriage to Bernardino was on September 24, 1785. Her second marriage is recorded in the Castrense records for the military chapel of the Presidio of Santa Fe. The 1790 Spanish colonial census lists Bernardino de Sena Martin, Spanish, 47 (born about 1743), farmer, married to Juana (Rosalia) Lopes, Spanish, 30, with six sons and two daughters, 20, 18, 12, 10, 9, and 16, 4, respectively. The four year old must have been the daughter of Bernardino and the others were children of José Antonio Ortiz.

José Ortiz and Juana Lopes were witnesses to several marriages. The 1823 Santa Fe Census lists Juana Rosalia Lopez without a spouse, widowed and 67 years old. The location of her home is the Barrio de San Francisco in Santa Fe. An Antonio Ortiz was living near to her. He was her son and was also named José Antonio Ortiz II. She had several children living with her, Santiago Marin and his wife Petrona Sandoval and their children ages 1, 2, and 4.

José Antonio Ortiz and Juana Rosalia Lopes had two sons enlisted in the Santa Fe Presidio. José Antonio Ortiz enlisted in 1808 and his brother José Viterbo enlisted in 1805. José Viterbo Ortiz is listed in the Spanish Enlistment Papers of 1732 - 1820 as the son of José (Antonio) Ortiz and Juana Rosalia Lopez of Santa Fe.

Blas Antonio Ortiz born before 1785, son of José Antonio Ortiz and Juana Lopez, married María Josefa García in November 1810. Known children of Blas and María Josefa were as follows:
Juan José Leandro born in 1811, resident of la Cañada de Los Alamos, married Soledad Ortega
Juan José Luis twins born in 1813 both died in infancy two months apart
José Lorenzo
María Trinidad born in 1814 married José Antonio Trujillo on December 20, 1833. He was the son of Diego Antonio Trujillo and María de la Cención García.
María Luisa Ramona born in 1817, married Tiburcio Sena. He was the son of José Antonio Sena and Soledad García
José Antonio born in 1821, died in infancy
José Antonio born in 1822, married María Alvina Archuleta. She was the daughter of Antonio María Archuleta and María Lovato.
Isidro José born in 1829 married María Juana Ortega. She was the daughter of Miguel Ortega and Petrona Gonzales.
Rafael born in 1832
Alejo born around 1835, married Martha López
Juan José married Encarnación Gonzales. She was the daughter of Leandro Gonzales and Dolores Arias.

María Josefa García was the daughter of Juan Antonio García and Luisa Rivera. Juan Antonio married Luisa Rivera in September 10, 1781 (according to the Santa Fe marriages 1721 - 1857 frame 222). Juan Antonio died in 1827. Luisa Rivera was the daughter of Antonio Rivera and Graciana Sena. The parents of Juan Antonio have not been confirmed. The Presidio Census of 1826 shows Juan Antonio to be eighty-two, placing him at birth in 1744.

In the 1823 Spanish and Mexican Colonial Census of New Mexico page 150 or frame 246, Blas was listed at thirty-nine years of age, laborer, with wife Maria Josefa García, thirty years of age. Their children at the time were Juan José, ten, student; María Trinidad, seven; María Lucia, five; Antonio José, one. They were living next door to his brother, José Antonio and wife María Gertrudis Ruibal. Their mother, Juana Rosalia Lopez was living nearby as a widow at the age of sixty-seven.

In 1850, Blas owned fourteen acres of improved farmland and it was reported that it had a cash value of $200. Machinery had a reported value at $220. On this land he had several livestock and an inventory of ten bushels of wheat and thirty-six bushels of Indian corn.

Blas also owned other property. This property abutted a portion of land owned by Juan (Bautista) Moya in 1891, which Juan deeded to his son Luis is described as a "puerticito that divides el cerro de señor Estevan to the south, with an Arroyo called Arroyo Blanco, which runs traversal from the northeast to the southwest to the east with properties belonging to heirs of Blas Ortiz." This property may have been near the water reservoir on upper Canyon Road and in the vicinity of El Rancho.

After the death of Blas' wife in 1855, he is not known to have remarried. In 1860, at age eighty-three, he was living in the same household with his daughter, Luisa, fifty-five years old and the widow of Tiburcio Sena. Luisa's daughter, Loretta, nineteen, who later married Juan José Rodríguez, was living in the same household as Rumaldo Sena, twenty-seven, and Nestor Sena. The latter two were, presumably, Luisa's and Tiburcio's other children. Blas Antonio Ortiz died in November 1872.

José Isidro Ortiz, mi tatarabuelo, married María Juana Ortega, mi tatarabuela, on January 22, 1852. She was the daughter of Miguel Ortega, deceased at the time, and Petrona Gonzales as listed in the Santa Fe book of marriages 1721-1857 page 247 or frame 1117. It also lists the parents of José Ysidro Ortiz to be Blas Ortiz and Josefa García.

In the 1880 Census Index Isidro Ortiz is listed at the age of 51, which means he was born in 1829. Juana Ortiz is listed at the age of 43, which means she was born in 1837. Their children at the time were as follows:

José Demetrio born on March 2, 1859 married María Rosalia Ortiz

Eduringen born in 1866
Juliana born in 1871
Marina born in 1873
Juana born in 1876

The 1880 Census Index states that they were living in Santa Fe Precinct #3 which is known as Upper Santa Fe where his son Demetrio lived in the Census-Index of 1900. It can be assumed that they lived in la Cañada de Los Alamos since it is known that Demetrio lived there. Nothing else is known about José Isidro Ortiz and María Juana Ortega.

Cañada de Los Alamos is 5-10 miles Southeast of Santa Fe, West of US 85 and East of I-25. A suburban residential area in the piñon covered foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, at the head of an arroyo bearing the same name. Lorenzo Marques petitioned for this land on September 23, 1785, and was put in possession on October 7, 1785, by Antonio José Ortiz, senior alcalde and war captain, in obedience to the command of Juan Bautista Anza, colonel of Royal Armies and civil and military governor.

José Dimetrio Ortiz, mi bisabuelo, born on March 2, 1859, married María Rosalia Ribera, mi bisabuela, born on August 27 1869 and died on March 3, 1959, on October 12, 1885 listed in the Santa Fe marriages book 1721-1857 in Santa Fe. It lists the following:

Demetrio Ortiz de La Cañada de Los Alamos, soltero hijo legítimo de Isidro Ortiz y de Juana Ortega con Rosalia Ribera del Arroyo Hondo, soltera hija legítima de José de la Cruz Ribera y de Candelaria Alire. Padrino Luciano Ortega, Madrina Nicolasa Alivarri

His baptismal record was located in the Santa Fe baptismal book and states the following:

A los cuatro de Marzo Bautice a José Demetrio, 2 dias de nacío, hijo legítimo de José Isidro Ortis y de Juana Ortega. Padrinos José Ortis y Maria Luisa Ortis.

The 1900 Census Index states that Dimetrio Ortiz, forty-one, with wife Rosalia Rivera, twenty-nine, with five children at the time. My Aunt Mary Ortiz, wife of my Uncle Demetrio Ortiz researched the family of Demetrio Ortiz and Rosalia Rivera. Their children were as follows:

Julianita born January 8, 1887 and died young
Apolonia born February 3, 1889 married Rite Montoya
Paulita born October 1, 1890 and died January 8, 1982 married Luciano Rodriguez
Rufina born July 10, 1892 and died January 4, 1958 married Dalio Carillo
Isidro born August 23, 1894 and died February 29, 1980 married Matilde Chavez
Juanita born May 16, 1896 and died August 24, 1948/52 married Francisco Cordero and Frank Leyba
Marino born July 17, 1896 and died May 23, 1912/14
Francisco born March 9, 1901 and died March 21, 1985/84 married Bernardina Sandoval Armijo
Donaciano born May 24, 1903 and died January 4, 1933
José born June 29, 1905 married Juanita Ortiz
Victorita born July 28, 1907 and died June 20, 1998 and married Federico Sandoval
Maria de los Reyes born October 20, 1909 and died July 13, 1921.

Dimetrio Ortiz lived in La Cañada de Los Alamos. My father, Manuel Isidro Ortiz, and I visited the cemetery of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in La Cañada de Los Alamos in search of his grave, pero no lo encontramos. We asked ________ García, who lived at the end of Santa Fe Trail (just after the pavement ends on the right). He knew Dimetrio and pointed to where they lived "en el cerro de pierda allá". He talked about how simple life was back then. They used to live off the land.

The obituary of Frank (Francisco) Ortiz, son of Demetrio Ortiz and brother to my grandpa Isidro Ortiz, in the Santa Fe Reporter, April, 10, 1985, gives some information about the family of Demetrio and Rosalia. Frank's daughter is Rose Almanzar.

He was born in Cañada de Los Alamos on March 9, 1901, and his father died when Ortiz was about 7 years old. After going to school for two or three years, he stayed home and helped his mother and siblings take care of the sheep ranch on which they lived.

"They all survived there at the ranch, did planting, raised sheep, and had fruit trees," his daughter said. "His mother raised the whole bunch by herself.

Isidro Ortiz, mi abuelo, married Matilde Chavez, mi abuela, of Leyba, New México and daughter of Manuel Chavez and Eloisa Gaspar, on May 6, 1923. They made their home in Santa Fe where they lived until the time of their passing. Their children are as follows:

Rosalía born March 6, 1924, married John Sweeney
Eloisa born April 7, 1926, married James Montaño
Lucinda born June 6, 1927, married Ben Martinez
Demetrio born August 22, 1930 and died August 6, 1989, married Mary García
Manuel Isidro born March 31, 1936 married Viola Rosina Gonzales
José Marino born March 20, 1938 married Francis Rodriquez
Gene born January 4, 1942 married Diana Roybal
María born March 25, 1944 married Gerald Lamb

I found a marriage record that states Isidro Ortiz had been married previously to a Remedios Valencia of Lamy, New México, daughter of Bernadino Valencia and Paulita Durán on April 25, 1921. Witnesses were Efinenio Romero and Julianita de Romero. They did not have any children.

In the Fifteenth Census of the United States: 1930 of Santa Fe, Isidro, thirty-six, laborer, is listed with his wife, Matilde C., twenty-five, three daughters, Rosalia, six, Eloisa, four, Lucinda, two, and brother-in-law, Antonio Chavez, sixteen. At the time they were renting for $8 per month. It also states that neither Isidro nor Matilde attended school, but could both read and write. They lived next to Luciano Rodriquez and Pablita Ortiz, sister of Isidro, and Demetrio, seventy-one, and Rosalia, sixty-one, parents of Isidro, who owned their house at a value of $700. It is assumed that Isidro and Matilde first lived in Cañada de Los Alamos before moving to their residence at 118 West Buena Vista in Santa Fe.

Isidro Ortiz was a large man, 6'-4", fair skin, muscular, wide jaw, and thick eyebrows. I remember my brother and I would run into their house and punch grandpa as hard as we could in his rock hard stomach. He was the glue that kept the entire family together. There are many stories to be told about my grandpa Ortiz. Unfortunately, I do not remember a lot about them. Following are pictures and poems about grandpa and grandma Ortiz written by my prima, Anna Ahumada. She wrote each poem shortly after each grandparent had passed away.

Grandpa

My grandfather's
Great booming voice
Provided the heartbeat
Of my childhood,
He planted huge sunflowers
In the backyard, watered them
And joyed at their yellow brightness
Their sun following
Seemed to him wise.
Their soft brown heart centers
Begged his touch
Much like our dark heads.
Like St. Francis
His being affirmed not only
"Brother sun" and sister moon"
But all the living world.
Midnight mass with him was wonderful, mysterious
The walk to the cathedral.
Through the deep black blue of the night,
The stars and moon full of promises,
Dreams, and wishes
And I, from my Grandpa's
Shoulders, felt sure that
They were all within my reach.
The cathedral was awesome
And solemn in the half light, and
I, open-eyed dreaming, at my
Grandpa's side.
Did not find it hard to feel
God's presence in the time and place.
Going home was peaceful and cool,
I was often asleep for our homecomings
And would wake to the smell of coffee
Perking in the kitchen.
One summer we built
An adobe wall
Grandpa, his muscles bulging,
Through his work shirt;
Hauled sand from the arroyo
In an old wheelbarrow,
Purchased a bale of hay, and
A truckload of dirt,
And sang softly to himself
In Spanish as he worked
From time to time, he would stop,
Scoop up a handful of mud,
Thoughtfully testing its consistency
Then add more sand or more hay
Or more water, or simply keep mixing
I asked him what the proportions were
For good adobe mud
When it feels right,
It is ready, he said.
He and I worked all that summer
Mixing the mud,
Shoveling it into the form,
Waiting for it to dry, enough
To pull off the form
Then doing it all over again
The form held four adobes.
While we waited for them to dry,
We dug a trench
Made sure the plumb line was straight,
And laid the adobes we had made before
It takes so long, I said.
What else heave you got to do? He asked.
We topped the wall off with cement and made
A deep hollow-a bird bath for the sparrows,
Always his favorite birds,
They are like us, living through all hardships,
Simple in their wants, and poor, he said.
Covered with mud from head to foot
We hosed on another off,
Then sat in the sun
Until we were dry enough
To go in and change
You may have the makings
of an enjarradora, he said
and my chest swelled with pride
All that summer he bragged
About how hard I worked.
With him there was
Never any doubt that you were
Important, wanted, loved, affirmed.
He was wise, like his sunflowers,
Always turning to the warmth,
Absorbing it, and reflecting it back to our
Everyday living.

Grandma

I can't remember a time when my Grandma
Was not part of my life.
What can I say about this woman, who rocked
My mother, me, my daughter, and many of you to
Sleep in her arms?
Hers was a fierce love-a love that could weather
Anything good or bad.
Her fierceness hid a gentle center;
There was always room for one more
At her table, in her home, and in her heart.
Her wants were simple
Plain cotton slips and dresses, soft sweaters, and her family's love.
She expressed her love through all of the many
Daily chores that must be done
To make a house, a home-the things that bring a
Family together.
When she got older, she was always
Apologizing for not being able to do all of those
Things-and I think it was because
She somehow felt that she wasn't showing us
Her love, when she didn't do them.
Every afternoon, she made mountains of
Tortillas, which we snuck from the table
Where they were propped to cool.
Zen tortilla master,
Effortlessly turning out perfect circles,
Which we ate with butter swimming, unaware
Of the art involved in their making;
Until years later in our own homes, we produced
Tortillas of every conceivable
Shape-except round.
She chuckled eating them, and swore there
Was no secret, other than the doing
Over a lifetime. 
Hands, warm, firm and strong
Always rough from washing
Floors, walls, dishes, clothing, children.
She had been an enjarradora
Before she married-she had liked it;
But married women did not work outside
The home in the 20s, and after her marriage
Neither did she.
I'll never forget how she laughed,
Until she cried-wiping her tears with her white
Cotton handkerchief-at Cantinflas, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Laurel and Ardí, or when her
Comadre Eduvigen suggested they buy a motorcycle
And a couple of bikinis,
And head out to California for
A much deserved vacation.
She rarely had the opportunity to travel
Much for pleasure, mostly she traveled
When her daughters had their children-
Twice to California; twice to Colorado;
And once to Texas.
It hurt her as she aged that many of her
Grandchildren and great-grandchildren
Spoke little Spanish and so she couldn't talk with them.
In her eighties, having outlived everyone
Of her generation in the neighborhood,
And most of those whose Spanish was fluent,
She said to me "Too many people have died, I wish
That God would remember me."
Last Sunday morning, God did remember her,
And He called her home.
We need to remember her as she was
Loving, laughing, crying-a woman who worked
Hard-loved fiercely, and showed that love by doing all of the many things
That a mother does, never thinking of how
Important they are or even that anybody
Will notice.

All of us here today are her legacy and it is up to us
To love fiercely and keep the family
Together-celebrating one another's
Accomplishments and helping each other
Through the bad times.
 

My Grandma lives on in each one of us-in

Each of our own special memories.

Those of us, who knew her well, and loved her,

Will miss her for the rest of our lives.

At the time of his Isidro's death, eighty -five years of age, he was retired from the Wilson Transfer and Storage Company where he worked for 20 years. He was a member of the Union Protectiva and a member of the St. Francis Cathedral parish.
Isidro and Matilde are buried together in the cemetery in La Cañada de Los Alamos next to the Church.