Esperanza C Lozano

Esperanza Chavez Lozano was born as Maria Esperanza Portillo July 31, 1923 to Maria Rivas and Roman Portillo in Santa Eulalia, Chihuahua, Mexico. She was the ninth of ten children. She was a typical girl, playing with dolls, dancing and playing basketball. She liked putting on makeup and dressing up with her sisters. In wasn’t all fun and games because she spent a lot of time helping her mother around the house. Her sisters were named Manuela, Dolores, Ramona and Juana and Flora. Her brothers were named Guadalupe, Eduardo, Angel and Moises.

At 16, she married Julio Chavez and had nine children of her own. She moved to the US in 1962, living in El Paso for 10 years before moving to Willcox, Safford and eventually to Tucson. She was very proud of becoming a U.S. citizen in 2000 and voted every election after, until 2017. She was often left alone to care for the children since her husband Julio worked away from home, so she was strict to ensure the kids were well behaved and safe.

Even as an adult, she enjoyed collecting porcelain dolls and knickknacks. She loved nature and enjoyed relaxing near a stream or hiking the trails at Mt. Graham. She was envied for her green thumb and could plant any seed in her garden and it would surely grow. There are a few Chinese Elms in Graham County thanks to her. Throughout her life, she had a cage of lovebirds, parakeets or cockatiels, and she had a poodle named Cindy to keep her company when her children were in school. When in Willcox she raised chickens, getting up early to feed them and collect the eggs. More than anything, she enjoyed being a wife, homemaker and mother. She told her daughters she hoped they would be good wives and mothers as well. She loved getting together with her children on the weekends or to celebrate holidays and special occasions. She looked forward to phone calls from her children; those living far, close by, or next door. She enjoyed getting together for morning and evening coffee with her daughters, which became a ritual as the daughters grew older. She was available for her children at any time whether for childcare, advice, a shoulder to cry on, or even to give a lecture. She said that no matter how old her children were, for her, as long as she was alive they were her babies.

She was very good at saving money and invested it in real estate. She worked hard taking care of the family home and was not afraid of, and was quite handy with, tools. She painted, installed floors and removed walls, whatever she felt the home needed at the time. Julio would tell the story of when he came home one day to find a door where there was once a window and a window where the door was. He also would not walk into the house in the dark, because Esperanza loved to move the furniture around frequently. So her hard work and investments in real estate were quite successful providing them with a good retirement.

After her husband of fifty years passed away in 1990, she stood strong and refused to move in with anyone. When one of her daughters passed, she stood strong and continued to function on her own. She was strong willed, independent, and resourceful. She even sold a house and bought another at the age of 91. A few weeks before her passing she talked about buying a new home.

She witnessed much in her lifetime, from the hard life in Mexico and its turbulent history to the many technological advancements of our modern age. She embraced her new country and cried when Kennedy was assassinated. She attended night school in El Paso. She continued an interest in technology, politics and discussing many subjects with her family, even voting until 2017.

She will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved her.

Services will be held at East Lawn Palms Mortuary on Friday, January 18 beginning with a visitation at 11:30, followed with a funeral service at 12:30.