LUCY CHAVEZ RAMIREZ

1943 - 2020

Lucy Ramirez, 76, passed away peacefully on October 3, 2020 with her husband Peter at her side. She was born on November 3, 1943 in El Centro to Benito and Severina Chavez. She attended El Centro schools and graduated from Central Union High in 1962. As a teenager she worked for JJ Newberry and El Centro Drugs. She later worked at the Imperial County Road Department and was later employed by the State of California Labor Law Enforcement as a stenographer. In 1963, she met her future husband Peter at the Red Top Drive-In in Brawley. They married on June 18, 1965 when he, a member of the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, was bound for Vietnam. They enjoyed 55 loving years of marriage together. With the arrival of her two boys in 1968 and 1969 she opted to stay home and raise them. In 1981, she welcomed her third child Melissa, the daughter she always wanted. She returned to school at age 45 and received her bachelors degree in elementary education and credentials in special education from San Diego State University. She retired from Calexico Unified School District in 2003. As a devout Roman Catholic she lived a faith-based life and was a lifelong parishioner of St. Marys Church. She loved traveling with small church groups, to visit Medugorje in Bosnia Herzegovinia, Fatima, Portugal, Lourdes, France, and Mexico City, Mexico. She also enjoyed traveling with her husband throughout the northwest and southwest United States. She was an avid gardener and had her backyard lush and green all the time. She also enjoyed playing cards, praying, watching novelas and dining out with her husband. She cherished her grandkids deeply. To help them with school, she converted one of her bedrooms into a classroom so that she could tutor them, something she took great joy in doing. Besides her parents, she was preceded in death by her grandson Peter Michael Ramirez; siblings Armando Chavez, Socorro McDermott and Mario Chavez; sister-in-law Sylvia Chavez and nephew Benny Chavez. She is survived by her husband Peter; sons Peter M. Ramirez (Martha), Andrew Ramirez; daughter Melissa Lara (Frankie); grandchildren Mischa and Frankie Lara; step-grandson Robert Ballesteros; brother Ernesto Chavez of Palm Desert; sisters-in-law Rachael Chavez of La Mesa, Gavina Sabala of Las Vegas, NV; brothers-in-law Eddie (Jenny) Ramirez, Salvador (Trini) Ramirez and Jesse Ramirez, all of Brawley. She also leaves behind numerous nieces and nephews. Viewing will be held from 8 to 9 a.m. on Tuesday, November 10, 2020 at Hems Brothers Mortuary in El Centro. Rosary will be at 9:30 a.m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, El Centro, with mass of Christian burial at 10 a.m., Father Ed. Horning, celebrant. Interment will follow at Evergreen Cemetery. Please wear face mask and use social distancing precautions. Those attending are encouraged to bring lawn chairs as outdoor seating will not be provided.