Rose Gomez

Obituary of Rose Anzaldua Gomez

Rose “Rosie” (Anzaldua) Gomez, 67, died on November 3, 2020, at Tucson Medical Center in Tucson, AZ., from Covid-19. She was a hug in the shape of a human; a loving woman who shall be dearly missed by everyone who knew her.

 

Rosie was born in Lordsburg, N.M., on October 29, 1953. She spent her childhood in Duncan, AZ., before moving to Cotton City, N.M. as a teenager. In both places, she lived on farms, where her family grew cotton, hay, and corn. In high school, she met the love of her life, Robert, and they were married just shy of her 17th birthday: on October 10, 1970.

 

After a brief stint in Colorado, where Robert was serving in the Army, the couple bought a little piece of land in Cotton City and began raising their family. In 1980, they moved to Playas, where Rosie worked as a cashier at Phelps Dodge Mercantile for two decades.

 

She quickly wove herself into the tight-knit fabric of the community: As soon as people walked into the store, they looked for her, knowing her smile would brighten their day. She helped out at the fire department and organized the Christmas lights parade. She starred on a variety of softball teams, playing first base, and was a skilled knitter, crocheter, and sewer who made intricate costumes for her and Bob's mariachi groups.

 

In 1999, Rosie and Robert moved to Deming, where they owned The Cactus Cafe for four years. Rosie then became a manager at the Deming Terminal Truck Stop’s restaurant. After retiring, she took on her favorite role — full-time grandma — and could often be found shuttling her grandkids to and from practices, games, and performances.

 

If there’s one thing Rosie will be remembered for, it is her food: her tortillas, her pancakes, her chili con carne. She cooked everything from memory, nothing from a box, and was a talented cake decorator whose elaborate creations appeared at countless weddings and birthdays. Food was Rosie’s love language — and she was very loving. When you were with her, both your stomach and heart were guaranteed to be full.

 

Rosie was caring and giving: a selfless woman who was always taking care of other people. She was warm and welcoming: someone who liked everyone she met, and who was liked right back. She never spoke badly of others, and was a good listener who made everyone feel comfortable and safe. She had an uncanny ability to know when something was wrong, always calling at just the right time. No matter what you were going through, she could make it better — simply by being herself.

 

 

Her story can’t be told, however, without her husband. Shortly before they died — within one week of each other — Rosie and Robert renewed their vows as they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. The love they created was the stuff of fairytales: For five decades, they held hands, danced and laughed, shared their lives as two halves of the same soul.

 

In the end, there’s only one word to truly describe Rosie: home. Not only was Rosie’s home everyone’s home, Rosie was home herself. Her smile, her voice, her aura; it brought peace to everyone she encountered. She was a matriarch, an angel on Earth, a “nana” to all — a woman who made every day and every place a little rosier than before.

 

Rosie is predeceased by her husband, Robert Gomez; her parents Ramon and Porfiria Anzaldua; her granddaughter Angelica Gomez; and her sister Angela Anzaldua. She is survived by her children Melissa Gomez, Vanessa Gomez (Steve Engelman), and Robert Gomez (Sabrina); her grandchildren Ramona and Alizae Acosta, and Raymond, Jacob, Kianna, and Elias Gomez; her siblings Anita Aranda (Conception), Lorenzo Gonzales (Anna), Frank Anzaldua, Fred Anzaldua (Cora), Bobbie Ramos, Raymond Anzaldua and Porfie Anzaldua; and many beloved nieces, nephews, cousins, and godchildren.

 

Services will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, in-memoriam donations may be made to the Lupus Foundation of America or The Heart Foundation. The family also asks Covid-19 survivors to consider donating plasma so fewer people lose their loved ones to this heartbreaking disease.

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A Memorial Tree was planted for Rose
We are deeply sorry for your loss ~ the staff at Angel Valley Funeral Home