Eleanor Marie Chavez passed away peacefully at her home in Newport Beach, March 14, 2022. She was 93 years old. Born in Los Angeles in 1928 and raised in Montebello, Eleanor was the only child of Albert Carrisosa and Marie Sarah Magdaleno. Her childhood was spent with her family in Anaheim, having barbecues, camping at the Santa Ana River, and paying homage to her ancestors who lived and died in Orange County- including Juan Patricio Ontiveros, who received the Rancho San Juan Cajon de Santa Ana land grant in 1837. The grant encompassed the present day cities Brea, Fullerton, Placentia, and Anaheim. Eleanor’s family was part of the Los Pobladores, the founding families of Los Angeles (1771) as well as the Bleecker’s of New York, founders of the New York Stock Exchange.
While attending Montebello high school, she met her first husband, Richard Peterson. They had two children, Christine and Richard before he died from polio. Eleanor married Benjamin Chavez and had three more children (Timothy, Loretta, and Michael). Eleanor and Ben moved to Newport Beach in the 1970s, a place she had grown to love and that encompassed so much of her family’s history. Eleanor had seven grandchildren, eight great grandchildren, and two great great grandchildren. Eleanor took extreme pride in her beloved seventeen grandchildren and was active in each of their lives.
Eleanor was a wife, mother, friend and business woman who owned her own real estate office in Newport Beach as well as three dress shops in the 1960s. She had an unmatched personality and zest for life. If you were lucky enough to meet Eleanor you surely will never forget her. She had enviable class and style. She loved jazz music, dancing, and was the life of every party. Eleanor is preceded in death by her beloved husband Ben Chavez, her son Richard Chavez, granddaughter Isabella Chavez, and grandson Louis Nigro. She is survived by her children, Christine Peterson, Timothy Chavez, Loretta Lewis, and Michael Chavez as well as her grandchildren: Michele Kahl, Portia Nigro, Cody Chavez, Lauren Chavez, and Michael Lewis as well as her ten great grandchildren.
A funeral will be held at Our Lady Mount Carmel in Newport Beach at 10:00 AM on March 31, 2022. Followed by graveside services at Pacific View Mortuary and Memorial Park in Corona Del Mar and reception at the American Legion Newport Harbor Post 291 located on the Balboa Peninsula.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to Al-Anon Family Groups of Orange County at ocalanon.org in memory of Eleanor Chavez.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.pacificviewcalifornia.com for the Chavez family.
