Maria Rebecca Mendez died peacefully surrounded by her children and family on January 9th. She was born in Ardmore, Oklahoma on December 22, 1919. She had 3 brothers, Victor, Jose and Pedro and a sister, Lupe. She was preceded in death by her son, Elias Mendez and her husband, Vicente Mendez. She raised 9 children: Rita Macias, Frank (Frances) Martinez, Richard (Lydia) Martinez, Vicente (Sylvia) Mendez, Jr., Daniel (Irma) Mendez, Elizabeth Vasquez, Alamar (Arthur) Ramos and Pauline Rodriguez. She had 32 grandchildren and over 50 great grandchildren and great, great grandchildren.
Maria worked in the fields for over 35 years picking cotton, beets, potatoes, prunes and cherries. She had a wonderful green thumb and all of her gardens reflected this with the beautiful flowers and vegetables she grew. She loved to cook and the family has many wonderful memories of the meals she served them. She also loved to renovate and she would be seen by many mixing cement and hammering new fences. She had a strong Christian Faith which supported her throughout her 98 years of life.
Visitation will take place at Mehl’s Colonial Chapel on Friday, Jan. 19 from noon-1:30 pm with the graveside held at Valley Public Cemetery at 2:00 p.m. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 20th at Watsonville First United Methodist Church at 229 Stanford Street, Watsonville at 1:00 p.m.
