Clara Cedano Gonzales

Gonzales, Clara C., Oceanside, CA--Clara, loving mother, grandmother, and great grandmother of 84 years of age, passed on Wednesday, May 29, 2013, with an unwavering devotion to the Lord, always praying for the ones she loved.

She was blessed with her wishes, to pass in her home, where she lived with her daughter, Lupe Gonzales.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Ralph D. Gonzales and survived by her four children and their families, Rosemary Martinez, her oldest daughter, and her husband, Larry Martinez, Ralph D. Gonzales, Jr., her oldest son, and his wife Dora Gonzales, Frank J. Gonzales, her youngest son, and Lupe Gonzales, her youngest daughter; and eight grandchildren and their families, Sonya and Michael Lamb, Ralph D. Gonzales III, Jake and Anna Gonzales, Steven D. and Lisa Gonzales, Andrea and Ben Cardoza, Frank J. and Melissa Gonzales, Krystle Williams, and Trenton Gonzales; and nine great grandchildren, Kayla, Isabella, Sophia, Ethan, Madison, Gabriel, Steve D. II, Averi, and Emerli.

Clara came to California as a young woman from Guadalajara, Mexico, moved to Oceanside, where she married Ralph D. Gonzales in 1947. She proudly earned her American citizenship in 1963. Her number one priority in her life, from the day she held her babies, to the day they held her, on May 29, 2013, was family. Clara was the matriarch, the magnetic force behind the love that is overflowing in the Gonzales family.

Clara worked very hard throughout her lifetime to provide. She commuted for many years to her San Clemente employer, which was a rubber industrial plant; then she began feeding the souls of many, with her amazing dishes, to children in local schools and to her favorite restaurants. Eventually, her experiences led her to Head Start, where she found a home. She nurtured the nutritional needs of the little ones by cooking up her fabulous food and serving those young spirits with love and honor.

Her true passion was listening and dancing to the sounds of the traditional music and dance folklorico. Her dreams came true when she formed their very own Ballet Folklorico. They preformed throughout San Diego County for years, never missing their annual performance at the Del Mar Fair. This love of music and dance, that filled her heart, was her gift that she shared with all that surrounded her.

Clara will be forever missed by so many lives that she has touched. This women of wisdom, with strong faith, always was able to wipe away worries with her love. She was a fun woman who told the best stories and created a space for conversation and laughter; she could always tell a great joke and she had a marvelous laugh. Clara was the glue, the one that always brought family, friends, and strangers together. She always shared her home, fed everyone with her delicious delicacies, and opened her heart to all. Though the Lord has taken her to do God’s work, and her time on earth has ended, she will be in our hearts and our souls forever.

Viewing is 4:00PM-7:00PM on Wednesday, June 5, 2013, Eternal Hills Cemetery & Mortuary, 1999 El Camino Real, Oceanside, CA 92054, with Rosary to follow. Funeral mass is 10:00AM, Thursday, June 6, 2013, St. Margaret Parish, 4300 Oceanside Blvd., Oceanside, CA 92056. Internment will follow at Eternal Hills Cemetery.