Sylvia Gonzalez

When Sylvia Gonzalez walked into the room, those in her company felt a palpable energy. This was just one of many qualities Sylvia had and how she impacted those around her. She was a clever and gregarious person who always sought out the finest attributes in other people. It was as if she wanted to share in all of their experiences, revel in their lives, and celebrate their discoveries. Sylvia was tireless and seemed to have a boundless enthusiasm that served her well throughout her life.

Growing up for Sylvia was like one big burst of spontaneity personified. She would join in with friends and family in just about anything. This made her life quite interesting and led to what would be a wide variety of memories. Sylvia was born on July 24, 1948. She first greeted the world in Los Angeles, California at the General Hospital. Her parents were Felix Edmund Rivera and Lucille Noriega Rivera. She grew up in Los Angeles, California. Sylvia had a great sense of humor and was a natural entertainer, able to keep the people around her amused with stories and tales. While some who knew Sylvia might have described her as an idealist, her friends and family understood well that she was always in pursuit of life’s endless possibilities and opportunities.

Sylvia was very accepting and supportive of her family. She was perceived as the central person in her family in terms of keeping communication open between the family members. Whenever discord or tension arose within the home, she was typically the person who tried to bring resolution and harmony. This quality, along with her quick wit, outgoing personality, and understanding of people were traits that drew the admiration of others and served Sylvia well in her adult life. She was raised with eight siblings. Sylvia had four sisters, Marlene, Gloria, Chila, Laura; three brothers, Richard, Frankie, Bobby; and a sister that passed away Kathy.

Even as a young girl, Sylvia was able to empathize and identify with many different kinds of people. This quality drew her into a diverse group of friends and acquaintances. She was intelligent and had little trouble getting along with her peers. She was almost always the first to jump in when it came to playing games or participating in other childhood activities. Some of her favorite hobbies were reading books.

During her high school years, Sylvia responded enthusiastically to any new project and was normally in search of one adventure after another. She graduated from San Gabriel High School. She was a very good student, and generally did well in her courses. Sylvia absorbed as much as she could from all of her teachers and was consistently able to tackle conceptual and abstract problems using her imagination to master her assignments. For her, school often became just an extension of playtime, thanks to her ability to turn just about anything into a game. Classmates considered Sylvia a good listener, knowing that when necessary, they could go to her to discuss just about anything.

For Sylvia, her life was just about as busy outside of high school as it was inside. With a talent for making friends easily, Sylvia was very sociable and could blend without effort into any number of different social groups. Assertive and outgoing, she was easy to know and often demonstrated a deep concern for others. She always seemed aware of what was going on with people around her and throughout her life she made many, many friends.

She learned about taking responsibility during this time of her life.

Sylvia was quite sensitive in all of her relationships. Jose Gonzalez discovered this firsthand.

She exchanged vows with Jose Gonzalez on November 15, 1974. She was married at La Lupita Church in El Monte, California.

Sylvia's skill at “building bridges” played an important role in her ability to make her new family happy. Sylvia was tenderhearted and sensitive, qualities that served her well in helping to nurture her family.

Throughout her life, Sylvia was actively involved in professional and community organizations. Always able to build a consensus, she usually seemed to be the person in the middle of things, working to achieve goals. Those who had the opportunity to work with her usually agreed that when you were involved in an organization with her, it was as entertaining as anything you could imagine.

She always seemed willing to join in and help, regularly getting involved in community activities. Her gifts of planning and improvisation, along with a talent for rallying support, made her a great asset. She found new ways of getting things done in order to help make just about every activity more efficient and enjoyable. Sylvia was an active member of several community groups.

Sylvia was a natural and creative parent who wanted to provide her family with all sorts of new and interesting experiences. For her, parenting was a particularly enjoyable and pleasurable part of her life. Every activity, from chores to bedtime routines, became a game in their home. Sylvia's skill at understanding her family members’ feelings, her sensitivity to their needs, and her gift for gentle persuasion enabled her to find novel solutions to any of the various family problems or situations that might have arisen. Sylvia had three children, two daughters, Patty and Priscilla, one son J.J. who passed away March 19, 2011 of cancer.

Because Sylvia was so attuned to her family, and especially the kids, she worked hard to raise them in a nurturing environment. In return for the energy she spent, the children often provided her with a great deal of pride and joy.

Later in life, she was also blessed with seven grandchildren, Michael, Ramon, Daniel, Elizabeth, Gabriel, Jazmin, and Emily.

Sylvia was uplifted by new ideas. New possibilities always seemed to excite her. These were traits which made her an exceptional worker. Sylvia’s primary occupation was working as a beautiful homemaker.

Though Sylvia didn’t go out of her way to seek out personal accolades, they seemed to just naturally come to her.

Like in other aspects of her life, Sylvia was able to make friends easily in the workplace.

She was enterprising, inventive, and often energized when working against deadlines. Her colleagues saw her as a supporter and a mentor.

Sylvia loved to have a broad variety of activities in her life, and she pursued numerous hobbies. Some of her favorite hobbies were She loved going to casinos. She had a knack for being able to multi-task in order to create time for all of her favorite pastimes. However, Sylvia's ever-present concern for others always took precedent.

She enjoyed many things throughout her life.

Sylvia derived much satisfaction from participating in and watching sports. Her charisma, supportive nature, and ability to help all made perfect attributes for enjoying a great many sporting activities. She also enjoyed watching football.

Planning ahead for retirement, Sylvia handled it the way she usually did. She adapted and, like everything in her life, made it satisfying. Since she was such a flexible person and able to adjust to any situation, retirement was just another enjoyable change of pace for Sylvia to experience. In retirement, she found new pleasure in watching her two older grandchildren play football. She was a very proud grandmother, very giving.

Even in retirement she found it easy to make new friends. She continued to stay in touch with her old friends and, like always, made plenty of new ones.

Being active was something Sylvia continued to do in retirement.

For the past 10 years she battled with many sicknesses and overcame them. She was a very strong woman. March 19, 2011 changed all that. She gave up in life. Her only son of 33 years lost his battle to cancer that day. Since that day she wanted to be reunited with her son. She’s no longer suffering. She’s now in a better place.

Sylvia Gonzalez left us on June 12, 2011. She passed away Beverly Hospital in Montebello, California. She was 63 years old. She is survived by her husband Jose, daughters Patty and Priscilla, grandchildren, Michael, Ray, Daniel, Liz, Gabriel, Jazmin, and Emily. Services were handled by Oakdale Mortuary. Sylvia was laid to rest at Oakdale Memorial Park in Glendora, California with her son J.J.

There was always a certain style and inventiveness to Sylvia. She was a dynamic, self-expressive person who was forever looking to celebrate the endless possibilities life had to offer. She had a knack for being clever, creative, and witty. For others, she was a joy to be around. While she was often fiercely independent, many others looked to her for inspiration, leadership, wisdom, and even courage. Sylvia Gonzalez was always more than willing to share life’s experiences with those she loved