Amalia J. Franco

Amalia was born on January 26th, 1914 to Ezequio Jimenez and Josefina Cuevas. She was their second of seven daughters. She was born and raised on a working Hacienda by the name of San Jose de Gracia in Jalisco, Mexico. She spent her formative years there and often referred to this place and period of her life with great fondness. She described it as a harmonious place where neighbors and family worked together and helped one another without the need to even ask. It was here that she learned many valuable lessons and skills that she would live by the remainder of her life.Although San Jose de Gracia had many amenities for its time, the reality was that there was still no running water nor any electricity. Therefore, everyone rose with the sun because there was lots of work to be done. Everyone had something to do, even the youngest. Chickens had to be fed, water had to be carried in from the well and cooking took place on a wood burning stove. You could not buy tortillas at the local corner store like we do today rather you had to begin by grinding your own corn before every meal. All this before you headed off to school. Idleness was not tolerated. My mom lived this lifestyle up until the end. It was early to bed and early to rise! The week before she died she was upset because she slept past 8 am. She could never sit and just watch a movie or one of her novelas, she had to stay busy with her hands. She was forever crocheting or mending something. More recently, she worked on her “Seek a Word” Puzzle Books. And this is how she raised my sisters and I. We were never allowed to sleep in on Saturday and Sunday morning, she always has something for us to do.My mom lived 95 years and was able to witness so much in her lifetime. Can you imagine? She saw many inventions including the first vehicle. She said the arrival of the first Ford Model T to the Hacienda created such a commotion. Of course, later there was the invention of television, both black and white and in living color. Even I remember the family’s first color TV! We really hit the big time then, not to mention having a telephone in the house. It was great to say we had it but we were never permitted to use it because it was only for “emergencies.” Then there was the joyous occasion of the landing of man on the moon. I don't think she understood the craziness of Beatlemania but she allowed us girls to have out moments with John, Paul, George, and Ringo. Computers and the Internet were beyond her comprehension. Of course, there was also much suffering during her lifetime. She witnessed the loss of life during the Cristero Revolution and the Spanish Influenza, not to mention the many global conflicts such as World War I and II, The Vietnam War, and 9/11.My mom had the strongest work ethic than anyone I’ve ever met. She tried to instill this same virtue in her daughters. Work hard at whatever you decide to do and do it well. Give your best! And more importantly, she emphasized to save our hard-earned money and not to spend needlessly. That’s one lesson we still have trouble with. She did not! I remember when she drove home her brand new Mercury Comet. When she pulled into the driveway, my daddy was upset and said to her “What in the world did you do? You bought a car and didn't’t let me know. How are we going to pay for it?” She quickly responded “Don't worry, Ernesto, It’s all paid for and I paid in cash.”Looking back, I think my mom really liked working. She enjoyed being productive and it gave her a sense of accomplishment. She had several jobs during her lifetime ranging from Nanny to the Lemon Packing House, working at Monrovia Nursery and Building Attendant at Harvey Mudd College. She officially retired in 1975 but this was short-lived as she returned to work first as a volunteer with the Retired Senior Volunteer Program which eventually became part-time employment at the Rancho Cucamonga Senior Center. She was 75 years old when she broke her arm and could not continue in this position. During her retired years, she was a member of the VIP Club and loved attending regular meetings. She took cake decorating classes and worked in her garden tending to her beloved rose bushes. Her main passion was needlework, primarily crocheting. I believe every family member has a personally made blanket from Grandma. Her competivness really came through when I entered a couple of her crocheted afghans at the Los Angeles County Fair. Much to her surprise both won her blue ribbons in separate divisions. The following year though she was highly upset and offended because she only took second and third place awards. Her competitiveness flowed to the local casino scene. She seemed to beat the odds and come home a winner each time.As a mother, she ruled our home with an iron fist because it was how she was brought up; she knew no other way. Mama was our harshest critic but yet our fiercest defender.The last couple of years were tough ones for her. She spent a good part of 2007 healing from severely sprained ligaments to her leg suffered in a fall. On December 27, 2008, she fell in her driveway and broke her leg, her arm, and even knocked out her two front teeth. She suffered so much pain because the doctors sent her home in a cast only to find out that the broken femur had not set properly and required surgery three weeks later. After surgery, she spent three months in a skilled nursing facility. She fought valiantly to overcome the painful physical therapy sessions. She came home on May 4th and continued the long, arduous process of getting back on her own two feet and she did. At the time of her death, she could walk with the assistance of her walker from her bedroom to the bathroom which is at the other end of the house. It was only her arthritic knees that kept her from being completely mobile. Her elderly body could not keep up with her young at heart spirit.On Sunday morning, December 27th exactly one year to the day of her fall, Mom suffered a massive stroke. I was optimistic that she may once again recover from this too because there were signs of improvement by that evening. This was not the case, the following morning it was evident that she, as we knew her, had ceased to exist. Physically she left us on January 1st, 2010. This was a big victory for my mom because she measured her success by reaching these milestones. She was excited about bringing in the New Year. She was 25 days shy of her 96th birthday which would have been her next milestone. My mom was married twice in her lifetime and had a total of nine children. She is preceded in death by both of her husbands, Francisco Valencia and Ernesto Franco and two of her children, Ramon and Berta Valencia. She is survived by one son, Rolando; and six daughters, Rosario, Celia, Molly, Josie, Ernie and Rachel, many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren. After my dad died in 1973, she never remarried. She was a widow for 37 years. She was an amazingly strong, hard-working independent woman.