Socorro Flores Romero Güera

October 24, 1955 – November 24, 2020

Socorro and I, although cousins, really didn’t meet until 1976, when she encountered me at City College crying because I didn’t know where to go after leaving my parents home. I actually hadn’t even thought about where I’d sleep that night, I had just thrown my belongings over the fence and then into the trunk of a friend and then headed back to school. After sharing my plight with her, she didn’t hesitate to say, “Come live with me and Alma”.

Recently, her husband Ricky shared with me that she had some type of radar that pointed her in the direction of someone in need. That day, the radar pointed right at me. The act of helping would bring joy to her heart, so it leaves me no doubt that she always lived up to the definition of her name, Help.

Thanks to her, I learned how to be on my own. She was an independent woman, a Chicana, a hard worker, and a single mom who loved her little girl so much. She shared all that she had with me, her home, her knowledge and most importantly, her heart.

We eventually went our separate ways after I married and although distant, we reconnected here and there, she met my kids and eventually I met her other kids as well.

The sad thing though is that we’d usually reunite at the funeral of an aunt or uncle. And though we’d always say, we shouldn’t keep meeting like this, let’s get together for fun vs. for sadness, those times were not enough.

The most recent reconnection was when I learned she’d been hospitalized at Sharp Hospital, next to my place of work. Although she was in a coma, I would sit by her bedside as much as possible and talk to her. I encouraged her to fight, I’d tell her to reach for Jesus, to touch his robe and that he would heal her if she believed, I told her to have faith. And when eventually she spoke to me after coming out of the coma, she said, I heard you and I did have faith. She knew she said that she had her family rooting for her.

Unfortunately, her condition eventually led to a two year battle with dialysis. It weakened her body but not her spirit to be there for family. She had always provided for her kids and went on being present for her grandchildren, she taught crochet and gave cooking tips and read with them. She loved doing special things with them.

She was loved and cherished by her husband Ricky. She was a loving and a respectful wife who stood by her man through thick and thin times and according to Ricky, there were some very thin times.

She will be missed but she will never be forgotten. I know that she will continue to look out for her kids, grandkids, and siblings because I believe her radar will never be turned off.

Socorro is survived by her husband Ricky Cudog, her three daughters, Alma, Vicki, and Blanca. Other survivors include her grandchildren, Angel, Karina, Carmen, Ruby and Olivia and siblings: Yolanda, Gloria, Nena, and Rosie.

Submitted by Andrea Tijerina