CRUZ A. NUNEZ
May 3, 1929 - Apr. 1, 2021
On April 1, 2021 at the age of 9 1, Cruz Nunez passed away peacefully at the El Centro Medical Regional Hospital.
Cruz was born on May 3, 1 929 in Calexico, C A. After her mother, Victoria Armenta, unexpected death, Cruz at the age of two, w as raised by her older sister Jesus A. Camacho and her husband Alberto Camacho. From that point on, she became an official member of the Camacho Family and grew u p alongside her nieces and nephews as a sibling r ather than their aunt, and was thought of and loved as their sister for the rest of her life.
Cruz attended school up to t he 6 th g rade. She stopped attending school to support her family by taking care of her new- born nephews w ho she loved almost as if they were her own children. She also did her part to help financially provide for her family by working in the agricultural fields. Cruz worked as a migrant farm laborer her whole life until her retirement in 1989. She migrated all over California and Arizona, harvesting a v ariety of v egetables and fruits. Cruz took great pride in t hat she never missed a day of work in her life.
Cruz l oved all aspects of life. She loved listening to music and dancing. You did not have t o ask her twice; she was always ready to dance. Cruz was quite proud of her physical condition, especially as she was able to maintain that physical p hysique even as she got older. Even when she reached the age of 80, she still would walk to M exicali daily and help keep the house clean. She took great pride in showing off that she could still do push- ups, high- kicks, and touch her toes without bending her knees. Cruz lived an active and full life. She enjoyed going to concerts. Some of her favorites were J uan Gabriel, Antonio Aguilar, Joan Sebastian, P epe Aguilar, and Luis Miguel. One of her unforgettable moments was when she and a group of other girls chased the legendary Pedro Infante as he came out of the theater in Mexicali. She also enjoyed attending b aseball games and was a big f an of the San Diego Padres. She attended many games in Qualcomm Stadium and then later at P etco P ark. And when she wasn’t attending c oncerts or Padres games, she loved her trips to Las Vegas and Laughlin with her nieces (her sisters from the heart) Paula and Cecilia and her nephew (her baby b rother from the heart) Arturo.
However, three things Cruz will always be remembered for are her homemade tortillas, her love f or telenovelas, and her love f or dogs. She was a great cook, but nobody was better in making flour tortillas than Cruz and she was more than happy to share them with her family and neighbors, often making 6- 7 dozens at a time, multiple times a week. And she was always happy t o make tortillas or any of other special dishes so long as it did come while she was watching one of her novelas. Anyone who knew Cruz knew you never ever interrupted her while she was watching one of her novelas. She would often talk about how she first started following n ovelas way before there were televisions, and how back then they were left to use their imagination while listening to these novelas from the radio. Lastly, and what she will more than likely be most remembered for is her love for dogs. Many times her family w ould tease her for the special treatment her dogs would receive from her. Over her 91 years of life, Cruz had many dogs that she loved and cared for, b ut those that she had for the longest amount of time were P oochie, S antos, and Junior. She r aised each one of them from the day they were born and all of them lived past 15 years of age. After losing them she had swore she would never take in another dog b ut then came Lucky, w ho would be the last dog she ever had. All of her dogs were always w ell- groomed, well- fed and slept by in clean blankets and beds that were l aid out for them daily in her bedroom.
She loved life and most of all, she loved her family. Cruz never married and never had children of her own. She loved her sister Jesus like a daughter loves her mother, the Camacho brothers and sisters were her immediate family, and their children were l oved as her nieces and nephews.
She is survived by her nieces and nephews that she grew up as siblings, Alberto, Lucio, Jesus, Armando and Arturo Camacho as well as by multiple generations of nephews and nieces.
Cruz was preceded in death by her nieces and nephews that she grew up as siblings, Antonio, Paula (Villasenor), Manuel, Cecilia, Jose, Francisco, and Pedro Camacho, along with her actual siblings Jesus (Dona Chuy), Jose, and Inez.
Funeral viewing services will be held from 9 to 11: 30 a.m. on Monday, May 3, 2 021, a t Frye Chapel and Mortuary, 799 Brawley Avenue, Brawley, C A 92227. L ater that same d ay a t 12: 30 p. m., Monday, M ay 3 , 2021, burial services will be held a t Evergreen Cemetery, 201 E. Gillett Street, El Centro, CA.