Virginia Clementine Lucero

Virginia Lucero passed away in her home surrounded by family, on February 9th, just one month shy of her 97th birthday. Virginia was born to Salvatore and Emilia Arlia in 1925 in Heilwood, Pennsylvania. She grew up in Bradford, Pennsylvania where she studied and became a nurse. After graduating from Bradford Nursing College, she worked at Bradford Hospital before departing to California in 1951 after securing a position as a surgical nurse on staff at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica. She met her great love, Maximinio “Max” Lucero, originally from Dawson, New Mexico in 1952. They married in 1955 and settled in Manhattan Beach where they became longtime residents. In the 1960’s she worked for a short time at Little Company of Mary Hospital and as the school nurse at American Martyrs Catholic School before returning to St. John’s Hospital, where she worked until her retirement in 1994.

After retiring she joined the Altar Society and Catholic Golden Agers at American Martyrs. She enjoyed traveling, gardening, and family events with her children and grandchildren.

She was greatly beloved and is remembered by her many friends and family as a remarkable woman. She accomplished anything she put her mind to and encouraged her children to follow her example. In addition to being a highly-skilled nurse, she was a loving mother and grandmother to her eight grandchildren. She was compassionate and kind, smart, funny, and had a deep love of music. She was known to spontaneously burst into song at random moments which brought us all great joy. She was happiest when she was surrounded by family and we feel truly blessed that we got to enjoy her as long as we did.

She was preceded in death by her husband in 2002 and is survived by her brothers, Tony Arlia along with his wife Rose, and Orlando Arlia, both of Cleveland, Ohio; her children: David Lucero; Susan Delavan, her husband Bill, and their two sons, Michael and Stephen; Mark Lucero; Mary Anne Lucero; Paul Lucero and his wife Kristina and their children Sean and Linnea; Janice Davies and her husband Chris and their two sons, Thomas and Alex; Joe Lucero; Julie Lucero and her two children Elizabeth and Max Witkowsky, and many nieces and nephews.