Nov. 4, 1925 – March 31, 2014
Aurora “Laura” M. Gutierrez, 88, of Sweet Home died March 31, 2014 at the Samaritan Evergreen Hospice House in Albany. She was born Nov. 4, 1925 in Zamora, Michoacan, Mexico to Jose Maria and Delfina (Mendoza) Maldonado.
She moved to Los Angeles, Calif. when she was 17 months old. She grew up in Los Angeles and married Francisco Gutierrez on Sept. 25, 1942 in Yuma, Ariz. They moved to Oregon and lived in Albany until 1947, when they moved to Sweet Home.
After her husband experienced a disabling logging accident in 1958, Mrs. Gutierrez started working at the Stayton Cannery, now Norpac. She worked there for 28 years and retired in 1988. She was an excellent cook and loved to cook for family and friends, play bingo, and enjoyed going to Reno years ago and the local casinos after she retired.
Mrs. Gutierrez is survived by her sons, David Gutierrez, Ralph Gutierrez and Francisco Gutierrez Jr., all of Sweet Home; daughters Becky and son-in-law Tim Miller, and Lupe and son-in-law Larry Wilson, all of Sweet Home; sisters Mary Lopez of Los Angeles, Calif. and Rachel Castaneda of South El Monte, Calif.; brothers Phillip Maldonado of Norco, Calif. and Raul Maldonado of Rio Rancho, N.M.; 13 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.
Laura was preceded in death by her parents, Jose Maria and Delfina Maldonado; five children, Joe (Chema), Maria Elena, Rafael, Francisco and Raul, who all lost their lives in a tragic house fire in Sweet Home in 1951; and sisters Elodia Gutierrez and Alicia Maldonado.
Viewing will be 3 to 6 p.m. Thursday, April 10, at Sweet Home Funeral Chapel. A funeral service is planned for 11 a.m. Friday, April 11, at Sweet Home Funeral Chapel. A luncheon will directly follow at Jim Riggs Community Center. Private family burial will be at Gilliland Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Mrs. Gutierrez’s name to Samaritan Evergreen Hospice House, Albany, Oregon.
Sweet Home Funeral Chapel is handling the arrangements.