Precilia Quijano

Precilia Rodriguez Quijano was born in La Cruz de Elota, Sinaloa, Mexico to parents Jose Campaña Rodriguez and Josefa Bañuelos Zamora on August 8th, 1949… ish. Who keeps track of these things, right? What we know for certain is that she passed away in her bed on June 22nd, 2025, in Peoria, Arizona after several weeks of seeing her dearly departed husband and mother inviting her to join them. She declined the invitation for as long as she could, but more and more late loved ones showed up. The more she waited, the more tired her old bones grew and the more enticing the invitation... and who was she to turn down a party?!

Precilia was always the life of the party, even if it was only a party of one, or not even a party. On more than one occasion she serenaded perfect strangers at restaurants after seeing that it was their birthday. It didn’t even have to be your birthday! She would bless anyone with lyrics made up on the spot and could talk to anyone for hours. She didn’t speak English, and didn’t mind at all if you didn’t understand her because she was going to pantomime the whole thing anyway (and throw in some interpretive dance and chicken noises for good measure).

While never truly having an official occupation, her children choose to say she was Wonder Woman. Precilia survived natural disasters, beat two aggressive forms of cancer, and provided for her children by doing a plethora of odd jobs. She didn’t wield the Lasso of Truth, but somehow, she seemed to know things that you hadn’t told her yet. To make the title even more fitting, she even donned some spandex and took to the Lucha Libre ring under the name “La Mujer Maravilla” to raise money for children in the burn unit in Mexicali in the 1970s! Even though she was poor most of her life, she had a heart full of love and generosity.

Precilia had no formal education because the lord knew she would be unstoppable if she had. She taught herself how to read and write. She read different versions of the bible and books about healing common ailments. While she was far from a doctor, people in her small town trusted her to help them overcome illness. In the late 1980s, she saved a man’s leg from amputation. He was so grateful that he repaid her with 30 years of marriage! In her late 40s, her sudden nausea and abdominal discomfort made them fear her cancer was returning. Against all odds, they welcomed a baby girl instead.

No other woman could say they lived the way she did, nor could they whistle quite as loudly. The impact she made on her loved ones and on thousands of lucky strangers is not one that can easily be forgotten. Whether she raised you, healed you, sang to you, danced with you, made you laugh when you were down, made you buy 360 tortillas (for reasons we’ll never understand), or just walked within your field of vision and made you think “wow… what a weird lady”; you will never be the same because of it.

She is survived by her 6 children, 15 grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren, 5 step-children, and many, MANY step-grandchildren, step-great-grandchildren, and even step-great-great-grandchildren. Her greatest cardio was all the times she got to tingiri-tingiri-taca-taca babies on her knee over the years.

Memorial services for Precilia will be held at Johnson Mortuary Chapel at 5pm on Thursday, July 10th, with a final viewing on Friday, July 11th at 9am followed by a 10am burial at Desert Lawn Memorial Park. Precilia asked in advance that we don’t wear black, as she is happy to be going home to her husband.