Amparo "Dee Dee" Perez

Amparo Serna Perez, known to friends and family as simply, Dee Dee, finally made it back to see Elvis in person. She was an extraordinary woman who was loved dearly by her family and friends. The oldest of Arnulfo and Chonita Serna's five children, she loved her husband and family, Elvis, her friends, Elvis, purple, Elvis, crime dramas and disaster movies, Elvis, the Washington football team, and Elvis. She was a gifted seamstress that sewed everything from elaborate Barbie wedding couture, beautiful Christmas tree skirts and ornaments, clothes for family and friends, and the hems of many pairs of military trousers. She leaves behind her husband, Pete Perez, her beloved mijo, Gabriel, her favorite daughter-in-law, Erin, and her two lovingly spoiled grandkids, Jameson and Kyle, her sister Linda Sue, her brother, Robert, and many nieces and nephews, cousins, and friends.

Dee Dee married the love of her life in 1975, and after the birth of their son, Gabriel, became a proud Air Force wife for 10 years, enjoying commissary benefits and the brisk mountain air of Colorado. She worked for USAA for 30 years and retired to spend time with her grandkids, her family, and her comadres. Her professional ambitions were to obtain a coveted 30-year parking spot at USAA and rack up enough seniority and PTO to take off at least a week during Fiesta.

She will be missed by so many people for so many reasons. Whether it's around the tamale table catching up on the latest chisme, her extraordinary baking skills or her killer margaritas, we will miss her smile, her big heart and her humor most of all.

In death, she reunites with her parents, Arnulfo and Chonita, her brother Nulfo, her sister Veronica, her Aunt Teresa, and many other beloved relatives who wait to see her smile again.