Maria Socorro Sullivan

Born to Leonor and Irene Zavala in Sinaloa, Mexico in 1942, Maria spent her youth and young adult years in Lawndale, California. She was the oldest of eight siblings including sisters Amparito, Estella, Carmen, Lupe “Cookie” and Martha and brothers Polo and Joe. She graduated from Leuzinger High School and met her future husband, Michael Sullivan, while working at Mattel Toys, when he asked her for help in learning Spanish. They went on to marry in 1970 and had five children, Michael, Alicia, Mathew, Mary and Robert “Bobby”. They lived in the South Bay area until 1981, when they moved to Riverside where they resided for the past 34 years.

Maria worked part-time off and on for Mattel Toys while living in Hawthorne and later in retail while living in Riverside, to enable her to be raise her children and care for her family. She and her husband Michael, loved to spend family vacations camping and day trips going cherry picking. Maria also had a talent for art and drawing, which lives on in her children in the fields of graphic design, fine art, cartooning and architecture.

Maria enjoyed the company of friendships and family and often paid visits delivering her delicious culinary creations. Learning from her own mother, she loved to cook Mexican entrees and desserts of all kinds. She developed a skill for cake making in particular providing many family events with personalized themed cakes and even wedding cakes! Her children all remark on her ability to make friends feel comfortable and welcome in her home and always well-fed!

She enjoyed the music of Julio Iglesias, Patsy Kline, Johnny Mathis, and the Carpenters. She also enjoyed movies of all sorts! From black and white classics, to musicals, comedies and the latest dramas, she amassed a collection of thousands of titles she shared with family and friends.

In her later years, Maria suffered from complications of diabetes, eventually passing peacefully at her home in the care of her husband and close family and friends. She was a warm hearted woman always willing and wanting to help others in any way she could. Whether her help came in the form of cooking, sewing, babysitting or just spending hours to listen, she never hesitated to offer her help. She was loved and known by many as a very sweet and kind person and will be missed very much by family and friends. She is survived by her husband of 45+ years; her children; 10 grandchildren, and 3 great

grandchildren.