On Nov. 7, 2023, our mother, Angela Barbara Benavides, left us peacefully in her sleep. She had just turned 93 years old in October. She lived a long life and touched many people. Not only did she have her children and grandchildren that held her as a matriarch, but she had many nieces and nephews that held her in their hearts. It’s not uncommon for someone to ask about her or tell me how special she was to them, and how she was there for them when they needed someone.

Her parents immigrated to Colorado and had a large family of six boys and six girls. She would often talk about growing up with them and working with them on the family farm. The simple times when she would hang out with her friends and work in the hospital as an on-the-job trained nurse. She married my father, Steve, they went on to have five of us kids. They moved from Las Cruces, N.M., to the San Luis Valley.

My mom was the manager for what used to be the Cliff Brice Convenience Store and retired from there and moved to Alamosa, Colo., a few years after we lost our father. She was active in the Catholic Church (both in Fort Garland and Alamosa), and was a Third Order of Mount Carmel Carmelite. Through the church, she met and knew many people.

Mom recently lost her beloved baby brother, Uncle Pete. They remained close even though old age prevented them from being able to visit each other. She was ready to see her Little Mama and “your dad”. So yes, we ALL will miss her very much, but she was tired and needed to move on from this life — a life free of all the elements of the 93-year-old body.

Services with Recitation of the Rosary will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Alamosa, Colo., at 9:30 a.m. with the Mass of the Resurrection to follow at 10 a.m. also at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Interment will follow at the Alamosa Cemetery. To leave online condolences, please visit romerofuneralhomes.com. The care of arrangements has been entrusted to Romero Valley Funeral Home of Alamosa.

No flowers or donations please. My mom was quick to offer a prayer for anyone. She felt needed it. So, I ask you please send up a prayer for her instead.