Rosalvina Olivas Sanz

May 17, 2023

ROSALVINA OLIVAS SANZ – MOMS EULOGY

We are gathered here today in the memory of my mother, Rosalvina OLIVAS Sanz, so that together we may acknowledge and share both our joy in the gift that her life was to us and the pain that her passing brings. In sharing the joy and the pain together today may we lessen the pain and remember clearly the joy she imparted into our lives. Two words that describe my mother are witty and tenacious.

She was born on December 23, 1923, to Candelario Sanz and Francisca Olivas of Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico. Her birth was officially registered on April 23. 1924. Therefore, making her 100 years or 99 years old. As far back as I can remember we celebrated her birthday on December 26.

Mom passed away peacefully at home with loved ones. She is preceded in death by her parents Candelario Sanz and Francisca Olivas Sanz, seven of her 10 brothers and sisters Guadalupe Sanz Suarez, Candelario Miguel Sanz, Jesus Sanz, Carlota (Nena) Sanz Alvarez, Hector Sanz, Alecia (licha) Hernandez and Luis Sanz. She is survived by her brother Raphael Sanz and sister Beatriz Sanz.

Our mother had eight children, Mom is preceded in death by her son, Alejandro (Alex) Miranda and her daughter Francisca (Frances) Miranda Medina and granddaughter Guadalupe Riggi. She is survived by her son Solomon Miranda, Estella Miranda Ortiz, Ramona Miranda Blancas, Robert (Bobby) Sanz Miranda Sr., Guadalupe (Lupe) Ramos-Day and Bernarda Rosa (Bernice) Riggi. She has 44 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and 14 great-great grandchildren.

Mom was raised in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, by her parents Candelario Sanz who migrated from Spain. He was known as a Gachupin a Spanish settler who immigrated from Spain. Her mother was from Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico with an indigenous background by culture. Our grandpa made his living by working with este (a cotton fiber). He would purchase bales of this material and make various products with cotton fiber, such as hammocks, rope, horse bridles, he even colored the este for the hammocks. He also purchased and sold foliah sponges for bathing and showering. This is a soft comfortable fine nylon net and can produce foam, which can deep clean your body. Grandpa also made estropajos. This was fine strands of cotton formed into a circle like a pad to be used for bathing or washing dishes. This allowed my grandfather to be self -employed and able to support his family. He imparted this skill to his children. Mom and her sisters went to catholic school and then to a private business school. My mother knew how to type and had secretarial skills. She taught the skills she learned to the children in her neighborhood. She bought my sisters and I a typewriter when I was in the 6th grade and taught us how to type. What a wonderful skill we learned from our mother. She loved us and little did we know she was preparing us for our future.

For many years Mom worked in the fields to provide for us. She would get up at 3:30 in the morning to get ready for the day, prepare some type of breakfast for us and then her and a lady friend of hers would walk to Chinatown dressed as a man to catch the labor bus to go to the fields to work. She would wake me up and tell me she was leaving and to get my siblings ready for school. We went to catholic school. We would go to school come home and she was still at work. She finally made it home to get dinner ready for us. Yet through all this her love and caring for the family remained her focus, and in so many, many ways was able to show her love to the eight of us as a single mom. This perseverance through adversity is a powerful lesson, she imparted her legacy to us. Mom was a classy lady, always bought pretty clothes and shoes at the thrift shop or department stores when she could afford it. She always took care of herself, curling her hair, wearing pretty clothes, doing her make up and nails.

After working in the fields, she then worked in packing houses for many years. Then one day we came home from school, I was in the six grade and our Tia Lupe was waiting for us to tell us our mom was deported to Mexico for being in the United States illegally. That was a huge adversity in our lives. The family was split up. The four younger siblings went to live with mom’s sister Tia Nena and the rest of us stayed at our house with my Tia Lupe mom’s sister-in-law. Her family moved in to take care of us. Mom was gone for about 1 ½ years. It took that long for her to get a pardon and her immigration papers accepted and approved to come back home. When she came back home that was the happiest time, we thought she was never going to come back.

And guess what? She went back to work at the packing house. One day, she said she was tired of asking for rides to work and said she was buying a car. So, she bought a car. A 1955 Ford and was determined to drive. It took her awhile to gain confidence and get her driver’s license, but she did it.

My mom continued to work at different jobs, she would sell at the swap meet and work in packing houses and we continued to live our lives. Mom was a giver to us and to her siblings. She was grateful to them when they provided food and housing when she was forced to live with them in Tijuana, Mexico. She never forgot their kindness, she in return would help them in every way she could. Mom then decided to move to the Los Angeles area to be closer to her family.

When she arrived in Los Angeles she worked in various factories. Sometimes having to drive miles to get to work but she did it. Her younger sister Beatriz worked at Kaiser Hospital as a nurse, and she told my mom she was going to help her when a job opening came up that she had skills for. Then one day I went to visit mom and she told me she had an interview at Kaiser, and she was nervous, so I drove her to interview and Praise God she was hired to be a housekeeper. She was happy she finally got a good paying job. She worked at the main Kaiser Hospital in North Hollywood for 25 years, retired, bought a house here in Fresno and came back to be with her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.

After retirement she attended the Mosqueda Senior Center every day and she was able to do arts and crafts and she was very content because that’s something she enjoyed doing. She loved ceramics, painting, crouched and embroidery. One thing when growing up mom sewed and she taught my sisters and I how to the use the sewing machine. We had a Singer peddle sewing machine with different attachments. She would buy a bolt of material and make all of us girls the same dress in different sizes.

Mom was witty and she came up with some silly sayings but at the same time made sense. Every day when I went to care for her, she would say my number hasn’t come up. You have to take care of me another day. She was waiting for God to call her number so she could go to heaven. Our mother was strong in her catholic faith and in the Virgen De Guadalupe. She was committed to her prayer life. When it was time for me to leave, I would tell her I was leaving, she take my hand and pray for me and kiss me goodbye, I felt such a comfort of joy to know when she was asking God to protect me and bring me back the following day. I praise God for our mother she lived a long hard productive life. There at the end of her life she didn’t want to be in bed. She wanted to be up and dressed and ready for the day. As the days went by, I could see she was deteriorating, and she was getting feisty because it was harder for her to get up. But she never gave up and she continued to have the willpower to live until her disease took over. Her legacy is never give up and stand on your faith.

I want to thank my sister Lupe for the loving care she provided for our mother daily, the sleepless nights, her perseverance with the many calls to Kaiser ER, Primary Doctor, Foot Specialist, Lab, X-Ray department and the pharmacy, it’s not an easy task dealing with Kaiser Hospital. Thank you again Lupe.

A visitation for Rosalvina will be held Wednesday, May 17, 2023 from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM at Whitehurst Sullivan Burns & Blair Funeral Home, 836 E. Nees Ave., Fresno, CA 93720.

A rosary service will occur Wednesday, May 17, 2023 from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM, 836 E. Nees Ave., Fresno, CA 93720.

A funeral service will occur Thursday, May 18, 2023 from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM at St. John’s Cathedral Catholic Church, 2814 Mariposa Street, Fresno, CA 93721.

A committal service will occur Thursday, May 18, 2023 from 10:30 AM to 11:00 AM at St. Peter's Catholic Cemetery, 264 N Blythe Ave, Fresno, CA 93706.

Serving as pallbearers are Solomon Miranda, Robert Sanz Miranda Sr., Jose Hector Sanz Gomez, Robert Miranda Jr., Michael Garcia, Marcus Castle, Joseph Castle, Ralph Blancas, Alex Miranda Jr., Christopher Gonzales and Tony Sanz.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.whitehurstsullivan.com for the Sanz family.