Amelia Marin

December 28, 1928-April 17, 2021

Amelia Marin, daughter of Daniel Cortez and Rosenda Sifuentes, died on Saturday, April 17th, in El Paso. Born on December 3, 1928, in Parral, Chihuahua, Mexico, she was the fourth and last-surviving of four siblings and the only one to emigrate to the United States. A devoted wife, mother, and abuelita whose love for all her children was without equal, she worked as a cocinera at Grigg’s on Doniphan for nearly 4 decades. She will be remembered for her strength, wit, compassion, wisdom, but most of all for her love. She was predeceased in 2014 by her husband of more than 50 years, Reynaldo Marin. She is survived by her sons and daughters-in law, Alonzo and Lupe Marin and Michael Dennis and Jenifer Marin, her grandchildren, Arturo Marin (married to Ivon), Ernesto Marin (married to Elizama), Angie Marin, Elizabeth Rose Marin, Anna Amelia Marin, Samuel Reynaldo Marin, and Michael Dennis Marin, Jr., and her great-grandchildren, Aleksander Marin, Abigail Marin, Evelyn Marin, Anthony Marin, Emily Marin, and James Nunley. A viewing will be held at the Hillcrest Funeral Home West, 5054 Doniphan Dr., El Paso 79932 from 5:00 to 8:00 pm on Friday, April 30. She will be buried at Fort Bliss National Cemetery on Monday, May 3rd at 1:00 pm following a church service to be held at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 400 Rosemont Dr., El Paso, Texas 79922 at 11:00 am.

La Guera – Amelia Marin

Delivered by Michael D. Marin, Sr.

April 30, 2021

Introduction

Ninety-two years, 4 months, and 14 days. A long life. A beautiful life. Many knew my mom as “Amelia Marin” or “Senora Marin” or “Hermana Marin” but she was also affectionately known as “La Guera,” which means “fair-skinned.” When I was small child she and I together were “La Guera y El Guerito.” I want to take this opportunity to tell you about “La Guera.”

Gratitude

But first, I want to express gratitude. I’m grateful for my Marin family. We are a small, but tight group. And on behalf of the Marin family, I want to say we are grateful for the people who knew, cared about, and cared for my mom. The love, support, and good wishes extended to my family on my mom passing and is humbling and inspiring. Thank you for taking the time today to be here. It means a lot.

Celebrate

This is a very sad time for the Marin family and it is very heavy loss that we feel, but I choose to be positive and to celebrate who she was. That’s what she would have wanted.

I don’t know how you can summarize or speak to an entire life. There are so many intricacies. Everyone who knew her had their own relationship with her. Much of what I’ll say speaks to my own relationship with my mom and my own direct observations of La Guera. I hope you come away with a greater appreciation for what an incredible and inspiring woman she was.

Strong and Courageous

Born in 1928 in Parral, Chihuahua, a silver-mining town 387 miles south of here where Pancho Villa had been assassinated in 1923, Amelia Marin was the youngest of four children born to Rosenda Sifuentes (Chenda-my abuelita who lived with us when I was in high school). Her siblings were Felicitas, Jorge, and Isabel. But she is the only one who emigrated here. She told us stories of growing up in Parral when she was a kid into getting in fights to defend herself and her siblings:

Le daba trancasos a los muchachos que le pegaban ye no les tenia miedo…(I would hit those that were hitting my brother and I was not afraid)

She came here in the early 60s from Parral with literally nothing, but the will to work and the desire for a better life and more opportunities. Making that 387-mile trek with nothing took courage and strength—courage and strength that she exemplified all her life.

Just yesterday, my lifelong friend Cory Ostos sent these words about La Guera:

Amelia was a beautiful, strong and tough woman. She was highly respected. A feminist before her time who had no problems telling men the way it was ... rest in peace grand lady.

Devoted wife

Not too long after she got to El Paso, she met my dad at a dance. He was dancing with my mom’s friend Trini from Canutillo. He was a little older than her and she liked him. When we asked her what happened when their dance was over, she said she told my dad directly and simply:

No, no, no… tu no te vaz, tu te quedas aqui, conmigo (no, no, no. you’re staying right here, here with me…)

And he did, and they were married not long after. I was born 5 years later. She took care of my dad, helped him with his business – la cantina known as the Canutillo Inn. She stood with him through thick and thin, and she took care of him through his struggles in his life and she supported and helped him. She took good care of him as he aged and until he ultimately died 7 years ago at age 94. She was devoted to him as his wife for more than 50 years.

Hard Worker

Even as she was a devoted wife to my dad, she also worked hard and contributed financially to the family. She had many jobs and often multiple jobs at once. She worked with my dad tending bar at the Canutillo Inn, at the Buckaroo Apartments where we lived until 1980. When I was a kid, I remember going with her to “La Cebolla” and “Al Tomate” and Alonzo who was older and stronger would go to “Al Hacadon” for additional income to make ends meet. For a time, she worked at “La Caneria” the Old El Paso Cannery (where later both Alonzo and Lupe fell in love as they gazed at each other across moving cans of tomatos…). She worked as a maid at the Mesa Inn. She worked as a cocinera at several restaurants including Casa Jurado and La Riviera, but alongside these other gigs her mainstay job almost 4 decades at Grigg’s Restaurant on Doniphan. She worked hard. Alonzo saw it. I saw it. And she never earned more than minimum wage.

We asked her why she worked so hard and why sometimes she would hold down two jobs at once. La Guera said matter of factly:

Por que me gustaba trabajar… (because I liked to work…)

La Cocinera—An Excellent Cook

And La Guera was a good cook—Anyone who has ever eaten her food knows how good a cook she was. She taught me how to cook over the phone when I was away at law school and feeling homesick for Mexican food and for her food. Today one of my favorite dishes is when Lupe makes “Tacos de Amelia”.

Devoted Mother and Fierce Defender of Her Children

Growing up, I screwed up--- a lot. It’s true, just ask Bob, Joe, or Gib. But when I screwed up, she was always there to defend me—whether I was getting in trouble at school, getting in trouble at the restaurant, coming home from partying in Juarez, or getting in trouble with the law. She was my constant ally and fierce defender. When I was growing up, we did not have much, but I can tell you I never lacked for anything. She and my dad made many sacrifices for me and they also taught me the value of hard work. And she taught me that if I wanted something I could work for it (maybe that’s why in high school I worked as lifeguard by day and busboy or waiter by night). Later I saw her advocate for and defend her grandkids when they had issues with their parents.

Smart and Witty

La Guera only had a second-grade education. But let me tell you that woman was sharp. She was perceptive and saavy and a good judge of character and she did not suffer fools. She knew how to tell a story and she knew lots of jokes. Gibby Lopez, my good friend and one of the funniest guys I know, would tell me stories about how he would be doing a project for her and she would be out exchanging barbs with him or with his workers. When the Marins of California and the Marins of Austin would gather with her in Canutillo, San Diego, or Austin, we often ended up at the table where she would hold forth telling stories and telling us funny jokes.

Compassionate and Caring

When I was a kid, we often would go to visit relatives in Juarez. She was always giving money or gifts to the people who would beg on the international bridge. She always brought gifts for friends and people in need on our visits. When people came to our front door, she was quick to offer help to people down on their luck. On more than one occasion, she offered my legal services to friends of hers and I was happy to oblige. She was very empathetic. She was always asking me for old clothes from my family that she could give to people she knew through church or in Juarez.

Wise Counselor

I have been blessed to know many smart and wise people who have guided me in my career and in big life decisions. Good judgment is a good lawyer’s stock in trade. And I have met and worked with many good lawyers and judges and I often call on them for counsel when I make decisions. However, the one person whose wisdom, judgment and counsel I have relied on more than any other in my life is La Guera. To me, she was the original “Wise Latina.” I will miss her counsel.

Faithful

For the last 40 years, my mom became a devoted follower of the Mormon faith. Although the rest of the Marin family brings different faith backgrounds, we are united in respect for and gratitude to the Mormon Church for the spiritual home and support and commitment it has constantly and consistently shown my mother. As she got older, she got more and more spiritual and deepened her faith in the church.

Thank you and Mention Friends and Family

Thank you to those who cared for her in her latter years: Amalia and Narciso, Xochitl and Temoc, Marcela and her daughter Diana (my mom’s long-time mentee from Sunday School). Thank you to Laura Contreras for being so kind and helpful to her these, especially in this last year.

Thank you to my good friend Bobby Simental-who would check in on her now and then; Gibby Lopez who was always there to help with the house and would banter and joke with her; and Joe Sauceda who always offered a helping hand

Thank you to Alonzo who was a good son to her and my dad and to Lupe for helping take care of her.

La Guera is now a Guardian Angel

Lastly, I want to say something that I especially for her grandchildren, Alonzo’s kids and my kids, to hear. La Guera is gone now physically. Her spirit has left this body. And yet I know she is not gone. She is now my guardian angel. She is still there to protect and defend through the rest of my days. But she is not only still there for me. she is still there for Al and Lupe, for you Arthur and Ivon and your children, Ernie and Chama and your children, and Angie your son James and she is there for you Rose Marin, Anna Amelia Marin, Sam Marin, and you Mikey Michael Dennis Marin, Jr. I want all of you to remember that you had a Very Special Abuela, and that you have her blood coursing through your veins. I want you to know and to never forget that Amelia Marin, La Guera, is your guardian angel and that her spirit will be there to protect and defend you the rest of your days.

Tu Eres Mi Hijo (You are my son)

The last thing she told me was to always remember that I am her son. To not let myself get pushed around, to always remember that I am her son. She said with a strong grip on my hand.

Tu eres mi hijo, no te dejes, siempre acuerdate que to eres mi hijo.

I will not forget. No olivarde.

We will not forget. Nosotros no olvidaremos.

Michael Dennis Marin, Sr. 4/30/2021