Socorro Cisneros

with cancer. She is survived by her husband, Fernando; her children, Johnathan, Xochi, and

Sabrina; and her grandchildren, Robin, Josie, O’Dell, Isaiah, Samuel, and Elijah. A memorial

service will be held in her honor from 11:00am to 2:30 pm on August 27, 2022 at Desert View

Funeral Home in Victorville, California. A reception to be held at 12152 Cottonwood Ave,

Victorville will immediately follow the service. The family invites anyone who knew her to

attend and remember her wonderful life.

Socorro was born on December 21st, 1969 in Los Angeles, to Manuel Cisneros and Augustina

Sanchez. She spent her earliest years in South Central, an experience that gave her the toughness

that would carry her through the rest of her life. A few years later, the family moved to East LA,

the place Socorro would call home for most of her life. Practically a born activist, at just the age

of 12, Socorro was selected as the youngest delegate to UNO, or the United Neighborhood

Organization, and charged with organizing her neighborhood around issues like affordable

housing and school improvement. Later, her involvement in MECHA, or El Movimiento

Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán, in both high school and while attending East LA College, led her

to join Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers’ grape boycott in the early 90’s.

Socorro was one of those rare people who had boundless energy and could dedicate herself to

multiple causes while working towards improving her own life and that of her family’s. A single

mother attending college, she quickly realized that only by way of obtaining an education would

she be able to offer her first child, Johnathan, more opportunities in life. Between caring for her

child, going to college, and working part-time, she concluded that a full-time job would be

necessary to care for her child properly. For the next 23 years, she worked for the Los Angeles

Metropolitan Transportation Authority, holding down a union position that she enjoyed until she

retired. All the while, Socorro never forgot her early introduction to the power of unions, a

concept she was first introduced to when her mother, who worked at a noodle factory and held

membership in the Teamsters Union, took her to one of her union meetings. That childhood

memory took even greater shape when Socorro worked with the United Farm Workers.

Remembering the struggle the farmworkers faced for fair working conditions, she became

heavily involved in Labor Union activities while at Metro, helping fellow workers with

grievances and filing of contract violations.

During her time working for Metro, she had two more children, first Xochi and then Sabrina.

Despite her busy schedule working for LA Metro, and her involvement in the union, Socorro was

an extremely hands-on mother to her three children. She made sure her children had every

opportunity she could provide and that they had a deep understanding of their cultural heritage

and indigenous roots. Socorro also advocated for her children in school, securing IEPs (or

Individual Education Plans) for them in order to fulfill their educational needs. Always one to

share her knowledge if it would serve her community, she became an advocate for parents with

special needs children to secure correct implementation of their children’s IEPs.

She also continued her education, receiving an Associate’s Degree in Liberal Studies in 2004

from East LA College, yet she still found time to increase her involvement with other unions.

She assisted them with preparing for hearings, negotiating contracts, interpreting contract

language, and lobbying for safety standards with their Congressional representatives. She was

also active in organizing union election campaigns and served as an official observer of election

processes.

Her time at LA Metro also introduced her to the love of her life, Fernando Hernandez. When the

two first met, Fernando was a supervisor for LA Metro, and their acquaintanceship was

somewhat heated. Soon enough, however, the two found common ground and a friendship

formed. Over time, that friendship turned to love, and the dynamic couple married in 2014.

The following year, Socorro would go on to earn another Associate’s Degree in Labor Studies

from LA Trade Tech and then, in 2016, she achieved one of her greatest long-time goals by

earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Management from the University of LaVerne.

After retiring and relocating to the High Desert, Socorro again found herself being a voice for

others and coming to the defense of those who could not defend themselves. She became

involved in her community and led a group of homeowners against the County Board of

Supervisors’ attempt to establish an industrial-sized, fifty-acre solar farm in a residential

neighborhood in Phelan.

Through that work, Socorro entered the world of the Tri-community Democratic Club.

Impressed by her passion, the members asked Socorro to become their President, a role she filled

until her passing. Her involvement in the High Desert Community in multiple capacities, such as

serving as the Vice-Chair of the High Desert SCLC, and as a member and organizer of the High

Desert Latina Summit, the Phelan Chamber of Commerce, the Chicano Latino Democratic

Caucus, LULAC, and the NAACP, all led friends and acquaintances alike to encourage Socorro

to run for State Assembly in 2018 and again in 2020. Although she was not victorious in either

of those races, her campaigns left an indelible mark on the High Desert Community, encouraging

others to be more proactive in shaping the community they want and deserve.

Socorro’s family would like to remind everyone that the word socorro means help in Spanish.

Socorro’s chosen purpose was to help as many people as possible in the course of her life and

they know that if Socorro had one wish, it would be for others to adopt that purpose as their own.

The family invites you to make a donation to Socorro’s favorite local charity, the High Desert

Keepers, in her honor, in lieu of sending flowers. Donations can be made online at

https://www.highdesertkeepers.org/donate or can be mailed to High Desert Keepers, P.O Box

720800, Pinon Hills, CA 92372.