Erika A. Barbosa was born in Tijuana, Mexico on April 18, 1966. She was the youngest of 9 children to Federico Alcantar and Carmen Romero de Alcantar . Erika has 5 sisters and 3 brothers. Erika was baptized by friends of the family in 1967. She grew up in Tijuana, Mexico, and lived on Avenida Television 249, of the Colonia Juarez. As a child, Erika attended a local elementary school and she then went to "Colegio Armendariz." for junior-high school. At the age of 16, Erika began her journey to the United States where she lived with one of her sisters for two years. From a very young age Erika was self-motivated and a self-starter, and within that spirit she decided to get her GED and attend college. Erika eventually received a medical assistant certificate from Mesa College in San Diego, California. A big motivation for Erika, to do something with her life, was the fact that Erika was a single-mother of her first born, Peter Bermudez, at a very young age. Even though juggling school, home, work and a young child was very difficult at times for this single-mother, Erika always thought about her family and their future, and she always persevered. In 1984, she met and married her husband Manuel Barbosa, a few years later she had her second son Manuel Barbosa Jr. In 1991, she had her 3rd son, Christopher Antonio Barbosa.
One constant in Erika's life was always her sense of family. Erika’s closes brothers and sisters always joked that she was “the glue that kept them together, the key to their getting along so well”. So in 2008, they gave her the honorary title of "The Key". “The Key” was a sign of her willingness to always keep the family peace, to keep her crazy family together, to host all family gatherings for the holidays and vacations. Erika was a wonderful hostess, a great cook, a great organizer, and the hub of all family parties and reunions. Erika was a wonderful sister and a great friend, she accepted everyone, and always helped with any situation. She organized summer vacations to Laughlin, Nevada, to Disneyland, to Yosemite and Big Bear.
Erika worked for 11 years at Pacific Regent Sunrise in La Jolla, and through her career there she was an Insurance Biller, an Account Manager, and last held the position of Finance Controller. Erika was very proud of the many wonderful friends she made and that she so much loved at her place of work.
Erika lived in her current home for 20 years. In 2008 she became a grandmother to Alexis Victoria Barbosa. With the birth of Alexis, Erika’s life completely changed. After having only sons, Alexis became the little girl she never had, she was Erika’s beautiful little-princess. In August of this year, she was blessed once again with a second granddaughter, Ripley Dene'e Bermudez, her second little-princes.
Family and friends always saw Erika as someone who was energized and loved to take care of her family. She had a gift for making people comfortable and welcomed. Erika was a good listener and could make suggestions or find solutions to everyone’s problems.
Erika lived in the present and enjoyed being with her family and her friends. She was an out-going, intelligent woman. For Erika failure was not an option, she believed that hard work could get you through life and it was important to be successful. Erika was hard working and cared about her job. However, Family was always her first priority.
Arrangements under the direction of Merkley-Mitchell Mortuary, San Diego, CA.
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