Bertha Alicia Valencia

Bertha Alicia Valencia (or Alicia, as she preferred to be called) was born on Monday, January 12, 1953 to parents Salvador Molina and Josefina Navarro in Armenia Sonsonate, El Salvador. Alicia means “noble and exalted.” No wonder she loved it so much. Although she was the youngest of five children, she knew from a tender age, how responsible she needed to be and the wisdom she needed to pass on to her children later in life. Although she wasn’t a college or high school graduate, or one privileged to graduate from a formal school setting, she possessed an incredible accolade of wisdom; one she garnered throughout her life (better yet, her school of life’s experiences).

As a woman of strong faith, Alicia was able to express Jesus to people through different ways, but mainly through her courage and faith she had in God. She was of catholic faith and was baptized in the catholic church. Her faith consisted of heart and action. Her belief was that, with faith, she could get through anything and accomplish any task. It was her unwavering faith and

courage that propelled her coming to the United States in May, 1984. Though it was difficult, she knew she was going to make it. In November 1984, through faith, she went back to El Salvador to get her girls and crossed many counties back into the United States. She saw absolutely no limitations. Of course, being a female, not being able to read or write, having no money, did not serve as any form of deterrence to her, because she allowed God to guide her when there seemed to be no way.

One of the things about Alicia was that she loved to be free, and dancing made freedom a reality for her. It was through this medium that, in 1990, she met and fell in love with the love of her life, a very handsome young man known as Carlos Conejo Leon at a party in Barstow, California. For their first date, Carlos took Alicia and three of her daughters and one grandchild to eat and have a sizzling time at Sizzler. All of them were enthused as they were introduced to watch The Little Mermaid; Carlos took it a little further by purchasing drinks and popcorn for everyone. For sure, Alicia, with full support from her daughters, knew Carlos was the “special one.” Throughout their thirty-three beautiful years of togetherness, Carlos and Alicia’s relationship encompassed love, patience, respect and commitment.

Three strengths that Carlos admired about Alicia regarding her love for life were: First, “Nunca se quedo

con las ganas.” She never wavered regarding her desire to do something that was in her heart. What she wanted - she always created. Even in the last month of her life, Alicia went to Disneyland twice. Second, “Dinero no le imortaba.” Money meant very little to her. Her focus was not to see how much money she could have; in fact, her desire was to see how much she could give to anyone in need – she was a sincere GIVER! Anyone who needed a ride, money, despite not knowing English, was sure to receive from the giver – Alicia! Her giving had no boundaries, irrespective of class, race, or even country. Third, “no hay que criticar a nadie porque uno no sabe que estan pasando.” Alicia believed that no one should judge anyone because you don’t know what they may be going through. She had many hardships in her life; yet, she always moved forward with a smile and giving heart. She was a true supporter, giver, and a very hard worker. In four letters – STAR. She was also viewed as a traveling flower and a dazzling spirit.

Alicia had a heart of an angel and took on the role of a care giver angel to three elderly individuals. She supported them in many ways including supplying them with home loving cooked meals. most importantly, she brought joy to each of them with her laughter and zest for life. She took care of them until their passing. To her, they were like her own family. She saw it, not as a paid job, but as a life purpose to bring joy. On the weekends, she

would go to Tijauna to donate clothes to those in need. Although she didn’t drive long distance, she didn’t allow that to stop her. She also spoke to strangers even to those who didn’t speak her language.

As a child, she was free, brave and loving. At times, she would take food to her father who worked in the mountains. In order to find him, she would whistle, and sometimes would have to whistle loud. As such, she learnt the art of whistling. She continued that way of whistling throughout her life. In a store, she would whistle in order to get the attention of her children. Once she did that, everyone would rush to her. Even when she stayed with any of her children, she would whistle to get their attention. It was also her unique way of calling her grand and great grandchildren.

Her occupation was mainly that of a homemaker for 52 years of her life. She was a loving, tough, and grounded mother. At times, she played the roles of both mother and father. She valued and instilled life’s values of love, compassion, giving, and determination in her daughters. Apart from being a homemaker, she worked at Canton on her arrival from El Salvador. To this day, Canton is the family’s favorite place to eat. Her favorite meals there were egg drop soup and tabasco, and Pepper steak. She was simply clever and unique.

Alicia was acknowledged as a unique leader and

loving mother. She became a mother for the first time in 1970 when she gave birth to Betsy; she then gave birth to Karina in 1972, Ana in 1980, Maria in 1986, Ingrid in 1988, and Jasmin in 1993. For Jasmin’s birth, Alicia considered that day a special and unique one as she gave birth on the same day as her eldest daughter, Betsy. It was indeed a remarkable one as both took place at the Barstow Community Hospital just hours apart by the same physician. It was of great significance that it was published in the newspaper. Alicia stepped into the new role of ‘grandma’ on October 4, 1991 and that of ‘great grandma’ on July 25, 2014. She continued to show love to all her grandchildren and great grandchildren that she spent the last six months of her life enjoying her grandbaby boy who was born in March 2023. She believed Genesis 1:28 “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth…” In her belief and action of it, she had a total of 20 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren, plus one additional great grandchild to be born shortly.

She loved many things. However, there were those that stood out. These include Starbucks (which she had every day), visits to Macy, perfume, owls, lipstick, sneakers, shopping, animals; no wonder she is being laid to rest at St. Fransis of Assisi saint of animals. She also loved flowers, gardens, adventures, travel, Disneyland, her kids, grandkids, great grandkids; she also loved her

sons-in-law as her sons. Some of the descriptive words to associate with Alicia are resilient, warrior, caring, opinionated, hilarious, strong, dirty minded, friendly, loving, jovial, happy, free, brave, God-fearing, unstoppable, dazzling spirit, bright light, noble, abundance, spontaneous, and expressive.

Alicia started dialysis in May of 2016. She then broke her hip in 2020. However, none of those could have stopped her from being the strong person she was. She saw none of them as a full stop; instead, she only saw them as a setback. There were many times she had setbacks but survived and thrived. In fact, she ‘had dialysis’, dialysis did not have her. Her favorite scripture was Psalm 91: “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty…”

Amid her strong resilience, on Monday, September 25 (on the day when she was expected to be on dialysis), God decided to call her home to be with him. She took her last breath in the emergency room at the Loma Linda University hospital at 12 PM.

Bertha Alicia Valencia, whose passing has suspended reality for all her family, leaves behind the love of her life (Carlos Conejo Leon), six daughters and their husbands (Betsy and Benito Anastasio, Karina and Mike Schroeder, Ana and Carmelo Soriano, Maria and Wyatt K. C. Davis, Ingrid and Leonardo Avila, and Jasmin Gutierrez), twenty

grandchildren, ten great grandchildren, two sisters (Carmen and Elsa), nieces, nephews, cousins, a host of other relatives and friends. Surely, she was a special gift from heaven.