MATILDE VASQUEZ

1930 - 2022

MATILDE

MARTINEZ VASQUEZ

Mar. 14, 1930 Dec. 28, 2022

Matilde Martinez Vasquez, 92, passed away surrounded by family in her Brawley home the morning of Wednesday, December 28, 2022.

Vasquez was a lifelong Imperial Valley resident, born to her parents, Sixto Vasquez and Teresa Vasquez, on March 14, 1930. As a Westmorland native, Vasquez attended Sacred Heart School in Brawley until the 7th grade. As an adult, she enjoyed dancing, gardening, sewing, and traveling. She worked at the J.J.Newberry department store before marrying Frank Chacon on March 1, 1954. Their 30 years of marriage led to her raising their three children. During this time, Vasquez worked hard as a housewife and also as a caretaker for her mother, who she cared for full time.

After raising her children, Vasquez was very proud to have earned her commercial driver's license and began to work as a seasonal commercial driver. During her work, Vasquez would haul cotton trailers and work in tomato sheds. For many years, Vasquez worked locally in a variety of positions within the agricultural community.

Vasquez enjoyed traveling to Mexico City, Acapulco, Oregon, Texas, Illinois, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, Florida, Cancun, and Hawaii, along with her trips on the Carnival Cruise. She also devoted her time to helping raise her grandchildren.

In 2010, Vasquez successfully underwent brain surgery to remove a benign tumor. By 2011, she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. In the years that followed, Vasquez and her family began the difficult journey of understanding the disease and finding ways to provide the necessary care. Vasquez's grandson, Eric Miller, spent the majority of the next 11 years caring for her, with support and help provided by her children and other family members.

She was preceded in death by her father, Sixto Vasquez; her husband, Frank Chacon; her brother, Edward Vasquez; her mother, Teresa Vasquez; and her granddaughter, Kristine Chacon.

Vasquez is survived by her children, Daniel (Christina) Chacon, Socorro (Manuel) Ruelas, and Lydia (Eldon) Miller; caregiver and grandson Eric Miller; along with nine other grandchildren; and many great-grandchildren.

Memorial services will be held for Vasquez on Friday, February 3, 2023, at 11 a.m. inside Sacred Heart Catholic Church at 402 S. Imperial Avenue in Brawley, CA, with burial services to follow at Riverview Cemetery.