Santa Reyes Acevedo

Santa Reyes Acevedo, 74, of Rosemead, California, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her loving family on January 4, 2025. She was born on November 1,1950 in a small farm town named, el Llanito San Antonio, in Lerma, Toluca, Estado de Mexico. Her parents were Salvador Varela and Victoria N. Reyes La Pierre. Santa grew up surrounded by cousins, aunt, uncles, brother and loving grandparents.

Her elementary school years were completed in Mexico City. Because she excelled in school, she was selected to carry the Mexican flag, a great honor, during an important parade. Education was always very important to her and in 1992, she graduated with honors from East Los Angeles College with an A.A degree in Child Development. Soon after, she proudly became a U.S. Citizen and participated in the electoral process. Indeed, one of her strengths was the determination to succeed in life.

Santa came to California at the age of 15 and saw the possibility of a better life, one filled with opportunities. She was a dreamer who made all her dreams come true. Hard work, courage, determination, and a strong will to survive in a new country was no small feat. At the age of 19, she married Jose G. Acevedo, with whom she had four children, Gabriela, Diana, Oscar, and Jose Manuel. In 1976, Santa and Jose Acevedo settled down in the City of Rosemead.

Santa’s dream was to continue her education and acquire a job with better pay, so she attended night school to learn English and would work as a seamstress during the day. In 1980, she was hired by the Garvey School District where she worked as a Bilingual Teacher Assistant and dedicated many years helping children of all ages. Most of her years were spent assisting Special Education students. After 30 plus years, she retired from teaching and dedicated her time to taking care of her aging mother and three grandchildren.

During her free time, Santa loved planning themed birthday parties for her family, cooking, music, dancing, traveling, gardening, walking, reading poetry, shopping at Macy’s, attending mass and visiting the casinos on her birthday! Her favorite band was The Beatles and she also loved collecting orchids.She devoted much time, love, and thought to writing birthday cards for her loved ones.

Santa Reyes Acevedo, lived a very blessed life and was loved by her family. She is preceded by her mother, Victoria N. Reyes La Pierre and survived by her husband of 54 years, Jose G. Acevedo and four children: Gabriela, Diana, Oscar, and Jose Manuel. Grandchildren: Isabella, Caterina, Nelson, Santiago, Estella and Elisa.

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