Elizabeth Alexandra Valcarce

Those left to cherish her memory are her husband of 53 years, Jose P. Valcarce; sons: Jose J. Valcarce and his wife Rachel, Carlos J. Valcarce and his wife, Jennifer; brother, Orestes Soler and grandchildren: Elise Burk, Joseph Valcarce, Julia Valcarce, Sarah Valcarce, Charles Valcarce and Jacob Valcarce; great-grandchildren: Ryder Burk, Hunter Burk, Ava Padilla and Addie Vaughn.

A note from her eldest son, Jose:

My mom was born in a small town in Cuba on April 21, 1947. Her family soon thereafter moved to Havana where she happily grew up with close family bonds. Later, as a young teenage girl, she met my father and they started dating. But that courtship was cut short as she was forced to flee her beloved country shortly after the revolution with her parents and her younger brother. Her family settled in Miami, Florida, where sometime later she met my dad once again. Fortunately, for my brother, Carlos Julio, and I, my parents rekindled their relationship and eventually married. They then moved to Southern California where they had and raised my younger brother and I.

My mom was a very opiniated woman and was not shy about expressing her thoughts and beliefs. Sometimes she was too honest. I remember being told of an instance where she was dropping off her grandchild Sarah at school and one of Sarah’s friends was wearing too much make-up. It was literally caked on all over her face and it was not a very appealing look for a young lady in grade school. Most people would have noted it and drove off silently – but not my mom. She blurted out the first thing that came to her mind and said, “Oh my goodness, you look like the Joker.” Obviously, this was not appropriate to say to a young girl and my mom was sorry that she had said that out loud to the young girl and for also embarrassing Sarah. However, that was my mom.

My mom loved to watch the news and the weather channel. She kept me informed on most days. She also had a passion for scratch off lottery tickets – which my dad for some reason would refer to it as playing “bingo”. My mom even won $10,000 on one occasion. She was very proud of that moment.

In short, my mom was a lovely woman with very strong convictions but was also very kindhearted and she absolutely adored her family. She will certainly be deeply missed by me, and the rest of her family. I take great solace in that she is no longer suffering, and she is now with God looking down upon us as an angel.

God bless her and everyone here today. Thank you so much for attending. The Valcarce Family