Carmen Bean

Carmen Bean was a woman of many facets and phases in her life … Originally from Camarines Sur in the Philippines, her parents Juan and Potenciana del Gallego named her Maria Carmen after Our Lady of Mount Carmel. She was raised in a multi-generational and multi-lingual home along with her 15 brothers and sisters which instilled in her a deep sense of comfort and joy whenever she was surrounded by family members. Speaking both Spanish and Tagalog at home, she was educated at St. Scholastica’s in Manila by Benedictine nuns from Germany who taught her English which caused people to recognize a hint of a Germanic accent when speaking with her. Her education was interrupted by World War II and the need for the family to keep moving from location to location to escape the on-going battles. After her father’s death prior to the start of the war, the responsibility of keeping the family intact fell to her mother and her older siblings with each one of the younger children taken under their direction. Coming from a devout Catholic family, she credited Divine Providence with bringing the entire family through the war generally unharmed. Later she would spend hours, regaling her children and grandchildren with stories of many of the events she witnessed.

After the war ended, she attended St. Paul’s in Manila and said that is where she learned to be more creative by writing poetry and short stories which was a hobby she entertained throughout her life. Later she met and married an American GI, Tom Carrillo, and he brought her to the US where they settled in his home state of Colorado. First settling in the Salt Creek area of Pueblo, Colorado, then later moving to Thornton, Colorado, Carmen and Tom raised seven children together. She is survived by all of them: Jeannie (Rick) Reeser, Dan (Kathy) Carrillo, Tom (Chaer) Carrillo, Tita Nicklas, Jude (Susanne) Carrillo, Terry (Sherri) Carrillo and Michael (Amanda) Carrillo, as well as 16 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren and 8 great-great-grandchildren with another one on the way.

Always open to new opportunities, as her children grew, she worked at IBM in Niwot, Colorado, where she used her writing skills to generate technical manuals and document processes for the Computer Chip Clean Room environment. While at IBM, she received many employee awards, including cash bonuses, in recognition of her multiple suggestions for updating the working procedures currently in place. Carmen left IBM to accompany Tom and their younger children back to the Philippines in support of his architectural business. She was especially thrilled to be “at home” with her extended family and friends. Two years later, when they returned to Colorado, Carmen tried her hand at retail sales and, once again, received recognition and promotions for her work ethic and people skills. This knack for helping people in whatever capacity she could sparked a desire in Carmen to return to school to complete her education where in 1981 she received a BA in English (minor in Secondary Education) followed in 1985 by a Masters in Social Work from Metropolitan State University in Denver, Colorado.

Having been widowed in 1982, in 1985, she moved to Tempe, Arizona, to be with her youngest son, Michael, as he attended ASU. Although she wished she could live close to all her children, her goal to build a new life in Arizona was made easier when Terry then Jude, also, moved to Arizona before Jude eventually settled in Canada. With her other children living across the country – Dan in Rhode Island, Jeannie and Tom in Colorado and Tita in Montana, Carmen busied herself working as a Social Worker for the City of Phoenix. Once again, she strived to make a difference within her work environment and began teaching a Spanish class for other City employees to enhance their work activities. One of the employees who took her class, while never quite mastering Spanish, did manage to win Carmen’s heart and she and Kenny celebrated their 29th Wedding Anniversary this past April 6th. Given her love of families, she was happy to add Kenny’s children and grandchildren to her own and was delighted when they referred to her as their “Lola” just like her other grandchildren were accustomed to doing. Aside from her excitement of spending time with her immediate family, Carmen always gained a new strength in looking forward to the visits her extended family of nieces and nephews would make to see her.

Though not one to ever eat much, she loved to cook – for others – and, while she enjoyed trying new recipes, her paella and pancit were staples at many a family gathering. Also, preferring salty treats like pork rinds and cashews, she was not much into baking, but no 3 Kings celebration for Epiphany was complete without her Roscon de Reyes or brojas dessert or, for an adult treat, a batch of her rum balls. And while not much of a TV watcher, if she wasn’t in the kitchen or doing a crossword puzzle, you could usually find her watching the Mass or some other EWTN program . . . or, for shear entertainment, one of her many Spanish novellas.

Carmen always credited her faith with giving her the strength to work through her challenges and was especially devoted to the Santo Nino, as well as the Sacred Heart of Jesus and His Divine Mercy. Although she embraced her namesake, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Carmen was deeply devoted to Our Lady of Perpetual Help and, as she became a grandmother, she began praying to Jesus’s own grandmother, St. Anne, to intercede in whatever needs her own grandchildren might have. Like the examples set by Our Blessed Mother, Mary, and her mother, St. Anne, Carmen found her greatest fulfillment in her role as a mother. In her passing, many have commented on how she was truly a second mother to them and stated that they will miss her consistent presence in their lives by means of her phone calls, text messages and Facebook postings to offer words of encouragement and prayers of support and thanksgiving for all her loved ones.

As initially stated, Carmen was a woman of many facets and phases in her life and no mere summary of those aspects can suffice in describing her character and beauty nor even her deeply rooted love of her God and family. On June 27, 2019 (the Feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help), Carmen peacefully slipped into her eternal life as the Blessed Mother escorted her into the arms of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ where, those of us left behind, are comforted in knowing that she is rejoicing “at home” in the love and companionship of her family members who have gone before her and whom she longed to see again.

As much as our hearts are aching with our own sorrow in missing her, they are overflowing with joy in knowing that her love is ever with us and that we have a blessed hope to see her again!

Services for her Visitation were held on Friday, 7/5, from 5-7pm at the Mariposa Gardens Chapel (6747 E. Broadway Rd, Mesa, AZ 85206) followed by a Rosary in the Chapel from 7-8pm. Her Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Saturday, 7/6, at 11am at Holy Cross Catholic Church (1244 S. Power Rd, Mesa, AZ 85206) followed by a reception at the Leisure World Banquet Room. Her cremated remains will be interred at a later date.