SOFIA RUNGE

SOFIA RUNGE Sofia del Carmen Castillo Guerrero Runge, of New Orleans, passed away Monday, April 8, 2013, at the age of 52. She was the beloved wife of James Richard Runge; daughter of Yolanda Guerrero de Castillo and the late Luis Castillo; and mother of Sandra Sofia Horna and Camille Afton Runge. She is survived by one brother, Luis Castillo and his wife, Sandra; and four sisters, Yolanda Castillo Solarte and her husband, Hernan, Maritza Castillo Martinez and her husband, William, Sylvia Virginia Castillo de Lopez and her husband, Raul, and Liliana Castillo de Vasquez and her husband, Guillermo; and many nieces, nephews and cousins. Sofia was born May 25, 1960, in Chiclayo, Peru, and graduated from the Universidad Pontificia Catolica in Lima with a degree in economics. She worked for many years in Lima as an economist in the Peruvian government. She moved to the United States in 1999 to pursue a better life for her daughter, Sandra, and for her. She lived in Downey, Calif. near two sisters and other family, in Las Vegas, and relocated to New Orleans in 2012. Sofia's smiling face and joie de vivre will be remembered by all who knew her, as will her love of her family and friends, traveling and her Peruvian culture. Services will be at 7 p.m. Friday, April 12, at St. John of God Catholic Church in Norwalk, Calif. A celebration of life will follow, at the home of her cousin, Marynol Barreto, in Norwalk. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made in Sofia's memory to The National Brain Tumor Society, braintumor.org