Guadalupe Navarro Perez

Guadalupe Navarro Perez, 94 of Cottonwood, passed away on October 11, 2014. She was born Maria Guadalupe Navarro on November 5, 1919 in Hunnington, Missouri to Jose Navarro and Maria DeJesus Hurtado. Her siblings were Carmen, Amparro, Luz, Ester, Rudolpho, Lydia, Rodolpho, Jose Ramon, Margarita, Irene, and Martha. The family moved to Jerome, AZ when Lupe was a small child. Living conditions were rough with Carmen, Ester, Rudolpho, and Margarita not surviving early childhood. Lupe grew up strong and as a young girl managed to manipulate the family finances to improve the living conditions of her surviving siblings. At the time of Lupe\u0027s death only Rodolpho (affectionately known as Rudy), Irene and Martha survived her. On May 9th, 1920 Lupe was baptized into the Catholic faith. This was the start of a lifetime of dedicated commitment to the Church and it\u0027s parishioners. Lupe was a leader in the Azteca funeral Lodge in Cottonwood. She saw to it that poor people of Mexican descent received a decent burial. She was a founder of the Catholic Benefit fund in Cottonwood. She organized many fund raisers, to feed families of people who had lost their jobs, to help the sick, and provided transportation to Church and other locations for the poor and elderly. She was a leader in the Legion of Mary. She made sure that the Mexican Cemetery was maintained. On October 18th, 1942 Lupe married Jose Perez in Clemenceau. They had 4 children, Richard, Johnny, Rebecca and Alice. Lupe worked at the local hospitals while Jose worked in Mines and the Clarkdale cement plant. They also had a store in Clemenceau. Jose farmed on the side and Lupe was known for her vegetable garden. By working other jobs on the side, Lupe and Jose managed to send their 3 oldest children through college. On Jan 11, 1974, Jose died on the family farm in the arms of his son Richard. In the mid 1970s Lupe moved to California where she cared for her aging parents in Cupertino. After her father died in 1981 and her mother died in 1989, Lupe moved to The Alvarez Almond Orchard in Escalon, to be near her eldest daughter Rebecca Alvarez. She then moved to assisted living in Modesto for several years. In September of 2012 Lupe moved back to Cottonwood to spend her final years near her many relatives residing in the area. Her daughter, Alice De Geyter, and granddaughter, Lettisia Peterson, also came from California to monitor her care. She fell and broke her leg on her 2nd night in Assisted living in Cottonwood. After several other medical mishaps, it was decided to have Alice and Lettisia care for Lupe at home. Grandson Joe Perez and wife Pati, also provided much loving care for Lupe. Lupe stayed with Alice and Lettisia for over a year before moving back to assisted living in November of 2013. She stayed at Carefree Assisted Living, until she again fell this time having multiple fractures. She was moved to her home on October 2, 2014 in Cottonwood where she was lovingly cared for by daughter Alice, and granddaughter\u0027s Lettisia \u0026 Lupita Perez. She passed away in Lettisia\u0027s arms on the morning of Oct 11, 2014. Lupe leaves behind her 4 children Richard Perez, Johnny Perez, Rebecca Alvarez \u0026 Alice DeGeyter. She also leaves behind her 9 grandchildren, Lori Ann Castillo, Richard Romaldo Perez, Guadalupe Perez, Jose Perez, Jonathon Rivero, Sara Maria Perez, Dante Alvarez, Dominic Alvarez, and Lettisia Peterson. She also leaves 20 great grandchildren, and 3 great-great grandchildren, and numerous nieces \u0026 nephews. Lupe touched many lives and will be remembered for her many compassionate accomplishments in the service of God and community. She was a loving wife and mother. She loved gardening, cooking, crocheting and spending time with her family. The Rosary will be said on Thursday, October 16 at 6:00pm at Westcott Funeral Home in Cottonwood. The Funeral Mass will be held on Friday, October 17 at 11:00am at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 700 Bill Grey Road in Cottonwood with burial to follow at Azteca Lodge Cemetery in Cottonwood. An online guestbook is available to sign at www.westcottfuneralhome.com