Isidro Chavez Soria

After a life of dreaming of big, wide open spaces, on September 27, 2018, Isidro Soria was welcomed by Jesus and his wife Amalia (Molly), into a Paradise more glorious than any space he could ever dream.

Isidro was born in Truth or Consequences (formerly Hot Springs), New Mexico and moved to Phoenix, Arizona with his parents at the age of 12 where he met and married his sweetheart and they started their own family, which included three daughters and four sons.

Isidro became a licensed contractor in 1964, the same year his youngest was born. His slogan became his business card motto: "Your word is your bond!" His loyal customer base knew those were words he lived by and those same customers greatly respected his integrity and work ethic.

Isidro regularly pointed to 1974 as the most important year in his life, because that is when he recommitted his life to Christ. He let everyone around him know he had become a new man. He became an integral part of Bethel Assembly of God Church until 1988 when he and Molly moved to Bisbee – where much of his heart would always remain, even to his last days that were spent in Camp Verde, Arizona.

Isidro’s family will always remember him for his quick wit, his love for Jesus and for freshly-made biscuits – since biscuits and gravy were his favorite breakfast food. Many who met Isidro were instantly wooed by his wavy locks, stunning smile, and charmingly self-deprecating sense of humor; but the stuff that caused countless people to love him was his character shaped by his strong faith.

His journey of faith in Christ was not free of hardship and was never used as an excuse to disconnect from the world around him. Some of his great feats of faithfulness include raising and empowering a line of strong women leaders, leading a Christian Business Men’s chapter, starting a church and performing missionary work in Naco, Mexico, and teaching from the pulpit to congregations in English as well as Spanish. Isidro also began a prison ministry in Bisbee, and counseled many church leaders throughout Arizona. However, his faith was not formed by these feats; as an inheritor of a family history plagued with alcoholism and socio-economic struggles, the model he set was one of reckoning with your choices, doing the best with what you’ve got, and accepting and giving grace in the process. Much like the Man he would learn to model his life after, Isidro was a carpenter by trade; this trade not only provided skills he diligently shared with all of his sons, but also increased his own resoluteness and stubborn sense of personal strength, both mental and physical. Nothing could break him – even to the end.

"He wasn’t a saint, but he was the man we ran to; he was a man of his word.” Isidro is survived by his sister Sadie, his brother Chris, as well as his 7 children, 18 grandchildren, 33 great-grandchildren, and one expected great-great grandchild. One of his favorite bits of advice, “roses for the living,” encourages us all to honor those we love while they are with us.