Alejandra Zepeda

Alejandra “Alex” Zepeda, age 38, passed away Monday, January 4, 2010 in Sacramento, CA. “Alex” or “Tana,” as she was known to her family and friends was born María Alejandra Zepeda-Capistrán on June 25, 1971 in Tizapán el Alto, Jalisco, México and was the beloved daughter of Raúl Zepeda Orozco and Maura Capistrán Barajas. She was loved by all her family. At age 7, Alex immigrated with her family to California where she lived until her death. She attended Patterson Elementary School and Tuolumne Elementary School in Patterson and Modesto, respectively. La Loma Middle School, Thomas Downey High School, and Modesto Junior College in Modesto, California and American River College in Sacramento, CA. She was considering returning to school to study Radiology and Nursing and had just signed up to start classes now, this Spring Semester. Alex worked as a network traffic engineer for MCI/Verizon Business in Sacramento for 13 years where she was well loved and respected for her dedication and her skills and where she was a team leader and was in line for a promotion as a manager. She was an avid photographer and loved traveling and outdoor activities, especially bicycling. She loved children and was the favorite aunt to more than two dozen nephews and nieces and grand nephews and nieces in her family. She had a love and compassion for animals and had many dogs and cats over the years. And, of course, we cannot forget her ferret Cujo. Alex was a caring and loving person. She was full of life. Selfless. She was a jokester. She loved to laugh and was always willing to make others smile and cheer them up, no matter what it took. She really knew how to make everyone laugh, including herself. She was a joy to everyone. She had a radiant smile that no one that knew her can ever forget. Her smile was her trademark. She was always positive. She was extremely considerate of others. She was bright with great leadership skills and possessed exceptional problem solving abilities. She was always the “go-to-person” for advice. She was a good listener and loved to help people. She was always looking for the best solutions and ready to tackle the unexpected. And, she was always ready to put up a fight to defend what was just and what she believed in. If you ever visited her, she took good care of you. She made sure you were well fed and had a good time. She always went out of her way to make everyone feel at home. She was an exceptional host. Alex was the person “in charge.” If there was a problem, whatever the nature, she took care of it. She was a go getter. Whenever she was home visiting her parents she took care of business and relieved other siblings of their duties. She gave them massages, took them out to lunch, shopping, etc… She was always someone you could count on. Friends and family loved to spend time with her. According to her niece Nancy she was goofy and fun to be around. To her older sister Eva, she was “her right hand.” She was “her all,” “her heart,” simply part of “her life.” “There are no words to describe her and her love for me,” Eva said of her little sister. “She not only loved me and listened to me; she also took care of my three children when I couldn’t care for them. I will never be able to repay her for what she did for my kids, caring for them, taking them out to eat, shopping, and more,” said Eva. Her nephew Diego said, “Tía Tana never refused to take celebrate with a good shot of tequila with me and I love the fact that she was never afraid of saying cuss words. She was fun to be with. I also appreciate the fact that she always checked on me when I was in school, including now that I have been studying far away from home in San Luis Obispo. Alex enjoyed fine dinning experiences and was a connoisseur of fine wines. Few people also knew she had a talent for inventing new words and idiomatic expressions that were unique to her. Also, not long ago, she wrote a list of “things you don’t know about me:” I still miss my (panzón). My Nikki dog - he was my buddy.I twirl my hair on auto pilot. Anytime Anywhere.I am not a morning person. If god wanted me to see the sunrise, he would have made it at noon.Pets find me.I lose myself in music. My favorite color is RED.Liger. Pretty much my favorite animal.Alex was survived by her parents, Raúl and Maura Zepeda, her partner of 10 years Anna Chow and her siblings Eva Zepeda, Primitivo Zepeda (Guadalupe), Gonzalo Zepeda, Cecilia Luna (Gilberto) of Modesto, CA, Jose Zepeda (Patricia) of Ceres, CA, Alfonso Zepeda-Capistrán (Meredith Earley) of Sun Prairie, WI, Raúl Zepeda of Modesto, Maura Paula (Richard) of El Dorado Hills, CA and Alfredo Zepeda of San Francisco, CA. She is also survived by numerous nephews and nieces, as well as numerous friends and relatives. She was preceded in death by her sister Teresa and infant brother José Eulalio and her beloved Scottish terrier Nikki, or as she would call him, “her panzón Nikki.”