Rosaline Soria

Rosaline Soria, known for her unshakable faith in Jesus, abundant love, and inviting hospitality, passed away after a four-year courageous battle with cancer on April 10, 2023. Her legacy of faith and love lives on through her two children, Esther and Nathaniel, as well as through the countless other lives she touched.

Rosaline was born on May 24, 1956 in El Paso, Texas to Eliseo and Rosa (Alvarado) Marez.

As a Chicana who came of age in the 60s, she learned early on how to do a lot with a little. The oldest child in the Marez family, Rosaline dropped out of the 8th grade to start working fulltime to support her family. At 13, she had to lie about her age to get her first job as a sales associate in a department store. Thanks to her tenacity and stunning looks, she made this lie all the more believable and thrived in this position.

At 18, Rosaline married Stephen Soria, expecting they were going to stay in Phoenix; Stephen being a lifelong Arizona resident at the time. Rosaline learned from a young age some of the challenges that flowed from a transient lifestyle, and she desired something different for her own family. Nevertheless, she was “willing to be in God’s plan,” which worked out well, because marrying Stephen led to moves across seven states in 20 years for Rosaline and her children.

For her, the moves were a testing ground for her faith. But instead of running away, she drew herself closer to God, and brought her family along with her. In each new city and state, Rosaline built a welcoming home and developed a community that would be called ‘family.’ This ability to adapt with ease and form new meaningful friendships everywhere she landed is one of the many valuable lessons she passed on to her two children.

After each transition, she said to her children, “you need to be best friends, because you won’t have any other friends for a while.” They took her advice, and as a result, their siblinghood grew from a friendship to kindred-spirit love; a reflection of the love Rosaline shared with her own brothers and sisters her entire life.

Rosaline always prioritized traveling to see extended family regardless of the many miles between them. These reunions were sure to be filled with loud story swapping and laughter. After her divorce from Stephen, Rosaline returned to Arizona to be close to the family she deeply loved, which included her spiritual family and her siblings--Eliseo, Monique, Diana, Jeff, Salomon, and Alicia. This community sheltered her, celebrated with her, and remained by her side during her all-consuming battle with cancer.

Rosaline’s heart was troubled by being so far away from her children and grandchildren, but her voice was always close and her prayers for them constant: “Keep trusting and obeying. I will keep praying and trusting God. May God continue to sustain you.”

Rosaline is survived by her children, Nathaniel Stephen Soria and Esther Soria Mignanelli; daughter in-law Laine Amada Soria; and grandchildren, Judah Theoden Soria and Augusta Rosa Mignanelli; whose lives are richer from her prayers.

Visitation will be held Friday, April 21, 2023 from 9:00am to 10:00am at Shadow Mountain Mortuary Chapel, 2350 E. Greenway Rd., Phoenix, AZ. The Funeral Service will be at 10:00am. The Graveside Service will follow at Phoenix Memorial Park, 200 W. Beardsley Rd., Phoenix, AZ.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.phoenixmemorialmortuary.com for the Soria family.