Francisca Castillo

Francisca Leticia Castillo Estrada, known to everyone as Leticia, was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala on Friday June 17th, 1955. The only child of Maria Cristina Arriaga, she was raised by her mother, living in close relationship with her dear grandmother, aunts, uncle and cousins. Her father, Mauro Cupertino Estrada, passed away when Leticia was only six years old, and left behind another son and daughter from his first spouse, named Hugo and Aurora. Leticia passed away on Sunday June 30th, 2024 at three twenty five pm, in Clermont, Florida.

Leticia grew up an only child, and was loved by many people throughout her life. She was very smart, and was always the top student in all her classes. She was an avid basketball player as a child and teenager, and loved to listen to famous singers of her time. Her favorite singer has always been Rocio Durcal, and those who knew her would always hear her singing the lyrics to many of Rocio’s famous songs.

Leticia grew up in the Catholic faith, but was introduced to the missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, by her friend and employer, Marta. She received the gospel lessons and was baptized in secret at the age of seventeen. She served in many callings in the church, where she met her future husband, Pablo Castillo. For Pablo, it was love at first sight. He immediately asked her out and pursued her. Leticia was not interested in dating, as she always hoped to earn a college degree, and did her best to avoid Pablo.

In 1976, Guatemala was struck by a massive earthquake of 7.6 magnitude, which left people without homes, food and basic life necessities. Leticia was nearly killed during this earthquake, but she saved her life by hiding under a steel bedframe, which protected her from the blow of a fallen wall. When Pablo found out that Leticia and her mother were in need, he traveled several hours to his home city in Guatemala and brought back sacks of rice and beans for Leticia. Leticia and her mother, known as Titi, were so touched by Pablo’s kindness, that she started to date him, and they quickly fell in love. They were married on August 6th, 1976.

Pablo and Leticia shared 48 wonderful years of marriage and are parents to three children: Gustavo, Yeny and Wendy. They lived in Guatemala until 1984, then Pablo and Leticia moved to the United States to find work and a new home for their family. Leticia was brokenhearted to leave her young children in the care of her mother, but the separation was only temporary. A few months later, she was reunited with her mother and three children in Miami, Florida. She and Pablo worked hard to support their family, and were so appreciated by their employers, that the doors of opportunities continued to open for each of them. They bought their first house in the United States two years later, and continued to progress and improve their economic situation.

Education was always a top priority for Leticia and she encouraged all her children to study hard and obtain a college degree. She attended all of her children’s school functions, extra-curricular activities and awards nights, and was so proud that each of her children graduated as high school valedictorians and top ten in their class. All three children obtained scholarships to prestigious universities in South Florida, and she proudly attended each of their graduations. She always told her friends with loving pride that she raised a doctor of optometry, a medical doctor and a talented architect.

Leticia’s children eventually met their spouses and were each married and sealed in the temple years later. She welcomed Cristian Andrade, Kristy Moore and Chase Toronto into her family as children of her own. Her first grandchild, Cristian Andrade, was born in 2009, and was followed by Ivan Castillo, Christina Toronto, Lorelai Castillo, and Gabriel Toronto. Her mother, Titi, lived with the family for many years and was able to welcome and care for baby Cristian the first two years of his life. Titi died on February 2011, which was a tremendous loss to Leticia, who loved and respected her mother more than words can describe. She buried her mother in Guatemala, at the side of her siblings and remembered her every day of her life. She loved her grandchildren and was happy to be there when each of them was born, confirmed and baptized. She was always looking for unique little gifts to give to each of them, and loved buying beautiful dresses for her princess granddaughters and funny t-shirts for her grandsons.

Leticia loved to travel and helped her family create many wonderful memories through numerous amazing vacations. She and Pablo took her children many times to Disney World and Universal Studios resorts and traveled to over twenty countries in the world. She enjoyed cruising tremendously and traveled on over ten cruises with Pablo, friends or family. She thoroughly enjoyed trying the various deserts that the cruises had to offer, and loved staying at fancy hotels, tasting great foods and visiting beautiful beaches throughout the world. She loved traveling so much, that she would start packing one month in advance before her vacations.

She was a fancy, elegant lady, and loved to be surrounded by beauty. She always decorated her home in the colors and themes of the season and owned hundreds of colorful suits, which she enjoyed wearing to church on Sundays. She was an active member of her church who served in many callings and loved going to the Temple. Cleanliness was also very important to her, and started each day with vacuuming the house. She loved comedy movies, and her favorite tradition was watching “Home Alone” on Black Fridays and going Black Friday shopping with her daughters.

People describe Leticia as kind, sweet, generous, giving and loving. She did not like to waste food, and always found opportunities to feed any leftovers to birds and squirrels. She unfortunately was diagnosed with a mix of autoimmune illnesses in her later years, which required many medical treatments, frequent visits to doctors, and hospitalizations. She was a brave woman who endured seven surgeries, including five during the last three months of her life. Despite the suffering she endured, she fought a brave battle against these awful afflictions. No matter how much pain she experienced, she continued to show concern for the well-being of her husband and family. Her testimony was strong, and she knew that families can be together forever, but fought hard to stay at her husband’s side. Her trials and challenges helped her become even stronger and loving than ever before.

Leticia will always be remembered by those who loved and knew her as a loving wife, beloved mother of three, and loyal friend. We know that the doors of heaven were wide open to let her enter and be received by her beloved mother and other family members who left this world before her. She will be missed tremendously by her family, but she asked each of them to be the best person they could be so that they could live together forever one day. She was survived by her husband Pablo Castillo, her son Gustavo Castillo, her daughter Yeny Andrade, her daughter Wendy Toronto and her five grandchildren: Cristian, Ivan, Christina, Lorelai and Gabriel.

A funeral service for Francisca will be held Friday, July 5, 2024 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 3850 Avalon Rd, Winter Garden, FL 34787. Following the funeral service will be a committal service from 12:00 PM to 12:30 PM at Woodlawn Memorial Park and Funeral Home, 400 Woodlawn Cemetery Rd, Gotha, FL 34734.