Obituary of Elda Marie Aguilar

It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our beautiful daughter, sister, aunt, niece, and cousin, Elda M. Aguilar. She is preceded in death by our mother, Sylvia E. Aguilar. She is survived by her adoring Pops, Gerardo M. "Lalo" Aguilar, loving sister and brothers Elma Aguilar Damon (Steve), Jerry (Dina), Victor (Lisa); nieces and nephews Captain Steven Paul Damon, Renee Montoya (Matt), Alex Aguilar (Jessica) Niko Aguilar, Marc Damon, Danielle Pickering (Shane) Alyssa Damon, Lauren Aguilar, and Victor Aguilar Jr; great nieces Sophia and Ava Montoya, Olivia Aguilar, and one niece or nephew expected in September whom she adoringly referred to as Peanut.

Elda was born in Tucson, Arizona on November 25, 1959. She was a proud graduate of Tucson High School, Class of 1977, where she was a mat-maid, song leader, a member of the choir and Los Tucsonenses Folklorico group, she toured as an Up With People "Cast C" member in 1980, and graduated from the University of Arizona in 1985.

Elda's charm and many talents led her to an adventurous life. Not only did she travel to many places with Up With People, she also made life-long friendships with castmates from all over the world. The taste of travelling became a passion that led to her 33 year career as a flight attendant with PSA, America West, US Airways, and ending with American Airlines. 

While never truly settling down, she managed several homes throughout the country, often flying coast-to-coast, or even abroad, always willing to travel to anywhere with anyone for any reason. For those of us grounded in life, we all lived vicariously through Elda's travels.

With Elda, her family were friends, and her friends were family. Once you became her friend, it was for LIFE. Whether it was four hours or forty years, it was all the same to her. As we look back on her life, it is filled with many memorable moments, and she had a lot of great ones. When we use our senses, we can smell her cooking her famous marinara in the kitchen. We can see her love for all of us, we can hear her singing and laughing and having a great time. We can feel her touch as she pulls at our heart, while at the same time making us laugh. We taste her love with all our memories.

There are too many stories and adventures to list, but we will all miss her terribly. Each one of us has our own specific "Elda/Tia Elda/Nuni/Nina story" that we will each cherish and continue to share with one another.

Services for Elda will be held on Tuesday, June 29th, 2021, at St. Ambrose Catholic Church located at 300 S. Tucson Blvd. beginning with a rosary at 10:30 am followed by a funeral mass at 11:30 am. A Celebration of Life reception will be held following mass in honor of Elda and our mother Sylvia, who passed away last year, at FOE Eagles, 1530 N. Stone Avenue, Tucson, Arizona 85705.