Marquita Celeste Davis-Paturzo

Marquita was born on December 19, 1956 in Oakland, CA to William Hardy Davis and Dolores Marquita Davis (Lopez). She attended Catholic grade school at Saint Anthony’s in Oakland and graduated from Saint Joseph’s Notre Dame High School in Alameda, CA. in 1975. Marquita graduated from Cal State Hayward in 1981 with a degree in Human Development. She began her career in federal law enforcement with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in San Francisco, CA in the early 1980’s. In 1988, she became a Special Agent and was assigned to the San Diego Field Office. In 1996, Marquita met and married the love of her life, Joseph Paturzo. On April 5, 2000, she gave birth to their only child, Bianca. In 2008, she retired as a Senior Special Agent and was residing with her family in El Cajon, CA.

Throughout her life, Marquita had a great love for nature and all animals. She loved her dogs, Xochitl and Diego, as well as her three birds. She spent her free time volunteering with So Cal Parrot where she helped rescue and rehabilitate injured parrots and release them back into the wild. She also loved to spend a lot of her time in her garden, where she planted food and cared for nature’s pollinators. There is an abundance of hummingbirds and other wild birds that gather around her garden every day. Marquita also raised and released hundreds of Monarch butterflies, which brought her a lot of joy.

Marquita is survived by her husband, Joseph Paturzo and their daughter, Bianca, three younger siblings, Belinda and Javier Davis and Marisa (Davis) Crowell, brother-in-laws, James Crowell, and Victor Paturzo, sister-in-law Sheila Lazeration, nephews William Crowell, Victor Paturzo, Jr. and Bryan Lazeration, nieces Tonya and Krystyn Lazeration, Amanda and Ashley Paturzo, as well as numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Viewing will take place on Friday, January 10, 2025, from 4:00 to 8:00 PM at Erickson-Anderson Mortuary, 8390 Allison Ave., La Mesa, CA. A mass will be held in honor of Marquita on Saturday, January 11, 2025, at the Church of St. Luke, 1980 Hillsdale Rd., El Cajon, CA. Internment will take place on Monday, January 13, 2025 at 12:45 PM at the Miramar National Cemetery in San Diego, CA.