Margaret Helen Wenzel
September 12, 1930 - July 21, 2018 Resident of Campbell
Margaret Helen Wenzel beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, passed away peacefully in her home, surrounded by her loving family. She is preceded in death by her husband Jack Wenzel and her brother Raul Diez. She is survived by her brother Nicholas Diez, her children Christine Homan (Steve), Fredryck Wenzel, Lilian Beggs (Tom), Philip Wenzel (Ally), and Elizabeth Churchill (Bill) as well as her grandchildren Sara and Josh Homan, Emily and JT Beggs, Kate Sylvan and Hannah Dykstra.
Margaret was born in Oroville, California to Luis Diez of Orejo Spain and Guadalupe Camarena of Guanajuato, Mexico. She deeply admired her two older brothers, Raul and Nicholas, with whom she enjoyed a rough and tumble rural Californian upbringing in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. She loved spring wildflowers, summer cherries, eggs fresh from the hen, and fresh milk from the family cow. Narrowly avoiding the hazards of her older brother’s pranks, she developed a hardy and resilient disposition that later anchored her own large family and astonished doctors and nurses during her four year battle with cancer.
Margaret attended Merced High and at the urging of her brothers, moved with her mother to San Jose and finished her senior year at Santa Clara High. Her brothers attended San Jose State University, introducing her to her future husband of 57 years, Jack Wenzel. Margaret supported Jack as he embarked upon a long career in public education, and together they started a family. Family was always first for Margaret, an ethos she instilled in her children. She raised them to love and care for each other, nurturing bonds among aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins by welcoming family to her home for the holidays and preparing her signature dishes. Margaret was a master in the kitchen, her specialties were pies, cakes, and Christmas cookies.
Margaret was a bilingual teachers aide at Trace School, bringing clothes and other necessities to students in need. She delighted in watching her own children succeed academically, pursue careers in nursing, teaching and computer science, and start families of their own. She was deeply proud to attend the college graduations of two granddaughters in two different time zones in one weekend.
Home was everything to Margaret. She was fiercely proud of her status as a native Californian. She enjoyed Yosemite throughout her teen years and later she and Jack honeymooned there. She loved summers with the family in Pinecrest and amazed everyone by hiking around the lake at age 86. She was most proud of her home in Campbell. Beginning in 1963 it became the center of the universe for her children, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren. She filled that home with music, a love that she shared with her extended family. She had a beautiful voice that was enjoyed by all during the many family singa-longs. Christmas, Thanksgiving, and birthdays, did not occur unless celebrated in her home.
After Jack’s passing, she joined the Hospice of the Valley Grief Support Group where she met and made many wonderful friends. As a community elder, she continued to fulfill her civic duties by volunteering at polling stations. An avid walker and a formidable weightlifter, Margaret was once asked to compete in the Senior Olympics.
We are grateful to her health-care providers, allies in her years-long battle with cancer, especially Dr. Cabebe, Dr. Schwartz, Kamal and the other caregivers from Hospice of the Valley.
A celebration of life is scheduled for Sunday, July 29. Please contact a family member for time and location.
In lieu of flowers please purchase several scratchers in hopes that your jackpots will be bigger than hers. Please send your winnings to the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES) in honor of her love of all families.