Sofia S. Cedillo

Sofia Cedillo, 90 years old, entered the world on March 22, 1923, and passed to eternal life surrounded by her family, on April 25, 2013. Sofia was born in Dorchester, Texas to Sebero Sanchez and Carmen Martinez. She was a beautiful wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, great great- grandmother, daughter, sister, tia and friend. She is and forever will be the Matriarch of the Cedillo Family. Sofia is survived by her children Sally and Joe Torres, Mary Alice and Pete Contreras, Sylvia Valtierra, Jesse Alcorta and Rudy Cedillo; sisters Julia Luna, Connie Sims, and Elvia Rodriguez; grandchildren Jesse and Viola Cedillo, Arthur Cedillo, Sandra and Jesse Aguilar, Eric and Laurie Cedillo, Liz and Oscar Pereira, Jason and Cita Torres, Michael and Priscilla Valtierra, Mark and Andrea Murillo, Denise and Ricky Loa, Anthony and Roseann Cedillo, Adrian and Roxanne Murillo, Kesha Valtierra, John Contreras, Monica Cedillo, Kimberly and Paul Becerra, Alexis Cedillo, Michelle Alcorta, and Sofia Alcorta; loving family friend, Jojo Alvarado; 33 great-grandchildren; and six great great-grandchildren, as well as numerous nieces and nephews, whom she treated like her children. Sofia is preceded in death by her mother, Carmen Martinez; her father, Sebero Sanchez; sister, Rosa Estrada; her loving husband, Rodolfo Cedillo; son, Jesse Cedillo; daughter, Helen Alcorta; daughter-in-law, Mary Helen Davila Cedillo; and granddaughter, Carol Diane Torres. Sofia was a beautiful woman in all regards. She was a deeply faithful and loving woman. She prayed the rosary multiple times a day and would pray for every single person in her family calling out each name, one by one, as she prayed. She had a special prayer room in her house where she would say the rosary and look outside to her garden because, after her faith and family, her garden and flowers were very important to her. Sofia had many flowers and plants inside and outside her house, and her favorite was roses. She had many roses as she thought they were the most beautiful flower to have. Sofia married Rudy, the love of her life, in 1940. She met Rudy when she used to walk by the local garage and he would whistle at her as she passed by. Sofia and her “honey” shared many wonderful memories during their 47 years of marriage, until his death in 1988. After his passing, Rudy continued to be her one and only true love. Sofia never worked outside the home but kept busy raising her six children. Rudy was always working and she always made sure he was well taken care of. As her children grew and started families of their own, she helped raise many of her grandchildren as well. She would stay with the new mom and baby for several weeks and help care for her children and grandchildren during this time. At home, she awoke every day and started making tortillas and eggs with an abundance of butter. After the breakfast rush, which meant making multiple rounds of breakfast, she cleaned up then started working on multiple rounds of lunch, which was then followed a few hours later by dinner. Sofia and Rudy often vacationed in Mexico in their younger years. Later, they enjoyed many family vacations with their children's families in destinations ranging from California to Florida and many places in between. Family meant everything to both Rudy and Sofia. Their grandchildren could be found roaming their house even though they were only allowed in certain rooms and would get in trouble if caught in any of the rooms that were off limits. She helped raise most of her grandkids and you will not find one of them without a story with her in it about their childhood. She never went anywhere without lipstick and always ensured her hair looked nice, even if she was in her robe. Of course, she was always dressed nicely, even when she was in her house coat, with not a hair out of place. Her house was always open to family, friends and even friends of family. And, she was always ready to feed whoever was there. She was the kind of woman who would only eat half her meal so she could save the rest for someone else, always wanting to feed others even if they weren't hungry. Sofia had many home remedies, always curing all of her kids’ and grandkids' ailments with Vicks, Cortaid, some Sprite, or the “purple medicine”. Sofia loved to dance and party in her younger years, and in her later years, when she celebrated at the parties of her children and grandchildren, you would find her on the dance floor, even if it meant a family member was pushing her in her wheelchair. Nothing could stop Sofia from having the time of her life. In March 2013, Sofia celebrated her 90th birthday with a grand party with all of her family and many, many friends. She was loved by everyone who met her; her house was always filled with family, food and love. She was the queen of her family and had so many stories and so much wisdom that she passed on to each of her loved ones. She lived her life to the fullest, she found love, she felt love, she gave love, but she also experienced heartache and despair. And it was in those times that she was the strongest, most faithful woman you could ever know. Sofia lived a long and wonderful life and gave her family the most beautiful memories such as selecting Christmas gifts each year for all of her grandchildren, making the best meals including homemade tortillas, the best atole, and when she became older, she enjoyed such simple moments like asking her grandkids to water her plants and staying up past her bedtime so she could spend a little more time with all of her family. To say Sofia will be missed is to understate the deep loss we feel in her absence. Yet, we know her faith carried her to the gates of heaven where we can only imagine she smiles down on everyone of us, asking us to follow her example to pray, be good, and love one another and to honor her by carrying her selfless love in our hearts forever through thought and deed. We find consolation knowing she is in eternal peace and finally reunited with her “honey”.