Becky C. Sanchez

Becky Charleen Cummings was born December 1, 1956 in Long Beach, California. She was the only child of Ray Cummings and his wife Juanita (Stotler). Being in a military family she moved occasionally, but spent the majority of her early years here in California.

She graduated from Chula Vista High School in 1975. She was married for a time, during which she had her first two sons. Michael Robert was born in 1978 and Richard Gavin was born in 1983.

In the early Eighties, she attended Southwestern College, where she began her studies to become a Registered Nurse. After earning her degree, she worked in the San Diego area before moving to Oceanside and then to the Los Angeles area. She and the boys secured a residence there and were accompanied by her mother, Juanita. They lived together there for many years.

It was during this time that she was finally able to begin working with children. This had always been her favorite aspect of nursing. She began working at the Presbyterian Hospital NICU in Whittier, California and remained there for years.

Eventually, events dictated a family move to Texas. Given her nursing experience here in California, she was able find employment at the NICU’s of local hospitals. Texas is a large state and it’s hospitals are widely dispersed and “local” is a relative term. She would spend hours driving to different hospitals; working the NOC shift and then driving back home. This made it quite a long day whenever she was scheduled for a shift.

Just prior to the Texas move, she had contacted an old friend, Hector, to say good-bye. They had first met in college, when they were both taking their pre-requisite classes for the Nursing program. They were classmates who became friends and then were both accepted to start in the program for the following year. They were placed into the same rotation and it was only natural that they ended up in the same study group for their classes. The bonds of their friendship grew over the years as their group spent many hours together studying and preparing for assignments, tests and reports. Hector even spent hours baby-sitting Michael while Becky worked at her jobs. Later, he would also watch over Gavin while she worked. Despite different jobs and locations, their paths continued to cross throughout the years. While in Texas, she and Hector stayed in contact across the miles through many letters and phone calls.

She did return to California and began working per diem shifts in different NICU’s. Now that she and Hector were only hours away, they were inexorably drawn to see each other and spend time together in person. Becky returned to Chula Vista where she and Hector became a couple and were married. Their union was blessed with the birth of their son, Alexander Amado Nicholas in 1996. Thereafter she would often make references to “My Three Sons”.

Becky had earlier been able to secure a position at the local Children’s Hospital, where she was to work for almost 20 years. She was again in the NICU as a Cardiac Specialist and ECMO Nurse, doing what she loved and did best.

Becky was diagnosed with cancer in September 2011. She was forced to give up her work in order to focus her time and energies on a long, arduous battle with a relentless foe. She was able to attain a period of remission and was able to return to her work for a brief time. Her cancer returned and despite a combination of radiation treatments and chemotherapy, this was a battle she could not win.

Becky Charleen Sanchez passed on to her heavenly rest on December 28, 2013.