Zayda Maria O'Connor

January 24, 1921 – November 29 , 2015

My dearest mother-in-law, Zayda Augusta Maria Muirragui O’Connor, was born on January 24, 1921 and grew up in Quito, Equador. She was the first daughter to her older brothers, Fausto and Gonzalvo and later, Gilo and Alicia rounded out the loving family.

The children learned lessons of devotion to family which they all have practiced throughout their lives. They have generations of leaders, heroes, captains, doctors, lawyers, government officials and top professionals, and they stayed in close touch with each other always! Love of family was always a priority to all of them.

Zayda met William Thomas O’Connor (Bill) in the 1940’s and after they married, moved to Panama, Canal Zone where Bill was a Dock Foreman on the Panama Canal. Zayda and Bill welcomed four sons: Robert (Dennis), Brian, Roger and Terence (Terry).

In the 1960s, when Bill retired, the family moved to the United States and settled in Gr. Junction, Colorado. Bill passed in 1974, and Zayda continued living in their home, never wanting to live anywhere else.

She was proud to become an American Citizen and voiced her political views, and religious beliefs to anyone who would listen.

Mom Zayda visited Quito to spend time with her parents, brothers and sister, as well as sharing new members of the family through marriages and births. She was always proud of her family and wrote letters and telephoned many times, talking like they were together just the day before. She acquired many photos not only of her primary family, but of the offspring which now extends many generations throughout So. America and the US..

Mom loved her visit in September 2014 with sister, Alicia and niece, Isabel. They spent hours talking, cooking and shopping, which was one of Mom’s favorite things.

She was very stylish, and even though her closets were full of clothes, she seemed to choose something she had for a long time, keeping her new purchases ‘for best’.

She was good about writing letters and sending cards and gifts to everyone.

Mom loved music, especially Classical and Opera, and Bill bought her a piano, which she played regularly, as she was formally trained as a pianist as a young woman.

Her surviving brother, Gilo, sister, Alicia, and their families will always be close to her heart as she moves on to her personal next chapter.

She is survived by her four sons, two daughters-in-law, one granddaughter, one grt granddaughter, and one grt grt granddaughter.

Zayda’s faith in her Lord, kept her close to Him throughout her entire life. She prayed and read scriptures every day. Her Bible, worn, faded and well read, contained her written notes so she could decipher meanings of so many passages.

Mom Z was a remarkable woman, raising four boys to move forward in their own lives and welcoming me and Terence’s new wife, Amber, into her family. She loved being a mother, mother-in law, grandmother and grt grt grandmother. Family was her priority!

She always had a sparkle in her eye and a laugh like no other, chirping one minute and low and hearty the next. And what an appetite! Her plate was seldom left with anything on it. She would try anything and gave me many of her recipes. Those recipes were almost always annotated, depending on what was at hand or what she thought would be a great addition. She made up her own recipes for some of the best dishes anyone ever tasted at her table.

I will miss and will love her unconditionally until my last breath on earth. I hope we can meet again at the other side of the rainbow, as I will need her courage, strength wisdom and love to guide me, as she always has.

Goodbye, sweet Mom Zayda. Until we meet again!

by Charlie O'Connor (Roger's wife)