Maria del Carmen "Carmen" Mashaallah

Maria del Carmen Mashaallah (née Rivera Garza) passed away on June 15, 2024, in Denver, Colorado, surrounded by her loving family. Carmen, as she preferred to be called, was born on July 16, 1949, in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico to Matias Rivera Rubalcava and Amparo Garza Bautista. Carmen was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister, auntie, and good friend to all. 

Carmen was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her husband Hodjat Mashaallah; daughter Gina Rivera Morrell and husband Britton, and son Obed Rivera; siblings Virginia Rivera Trujano, Fermin Rivera Garza and wife Lydia, Carlos Rivera Garza, Ricardo Rivera Garza and wife Irene, Alma Rivera Frost, and Blanca Veloz Saragosa and husband Pete; and five grandchildren Amberly Brooke Rivera Morrell, Haley Elise Morrell, Ethan Drake Rivera Morrell (allegedly the favorite but this is vigorously disputed), Matias Tucker Morrell and Shaun Rayne Rivera Morrell, and numerous nieces and nephews and extended family that were dear to her heart. Plus, her beloved chickens who are missing her greatly.

Carmen spent the first part of her life in the Eagle Pass and San Antonio, Texas. In the summer of 1977, she sold nearly everything to buy a brand-new Oldsmobile Delta 88 for about $5,000. Then she loaded the car with her children, her mother Amparo, sisters Alma and Blanca, and headed to Colorado. They stopped only for gas, food, sleep, and to mourn Elvis Presley’s passing. Once in Colorado Carmen settled near her brother, Ricardo in Fort Lupton.

Carmen became certified as a dental assistant in the mid-80s, working first at Sunrise Clinic before joining Dr. Lloyd Heikes, DMD, to help him establish his new dental clinic in 1996. They went on to work together for eighteen years. Carmen’s grandkids, nieces, and nephews eagerly awaited their dental visits knowing she would be there to comfort them.

After her children were grown, Carmen traveled with her brother Carlos to Las Vegas, Nevada, where she was, of course, drawn to the circus at the Hotel and Casino of the same name. It was there that she met Hodjat Mashaallah. The two were married on June 7, 1991, in Greeley, Colorado. Carmen embraced her new Persian family, and with Hodjat, found many dear friends in the Persian Community who supported and loved her and admired her self-taught ability to belly dance.

They constructed their dream house on an acreage on the eastern plains near Gill, Colorado, where they could see the Rocky Mountains in the distance and cherish the sunsets. Carmen encouraged all sorts of trespassing critters, such as deer, raccoons, cats, rabbits, birds, butterflies, and other wildlife. She forbade Hodjat from killing even moths. Only coyotes were disinvited and shooed away so they wouldn’t bother her chickens.

Despite being a strict and loving parent to her children, as a grandmother, Carmen dropped the “strict” and began spoiling her grandchildren with a vengeance. She played as well as they did and gave as good as she got. Sometimes—perhaps too often—it was difficult to figure out who was more mischievous:  the children or Carmen.

In her retirement, Carmen reserved Tuesdays and Thursdays for lunch and serious bingo and card playing (a game called 65, which is a combination of Gin Rummy and Phase 10) at the Kersey Senior Center. Nobody announced “Pay Me” with more joy. It didn’t take long for the family to know that any call to Carmen during her card time was destined for voicemail.

It was all the more surprising that Carmen stayed current with the latest tech gadgets and entertainment devices. This was thanks to her son Obed, who patiently introduced her to smartphones, tablets, and streaming services. As a result, she was able to stay digitally current with her grandkids, family, and friends, but did accidentally end up making more than a few Facebook profiles along the way.

A look through Carmen’s photos reveals (no surprise) that puzzles were her passion. She made gift-giving easy for her grandkids: a 1,000-piece puzzle was perfect; anything less was too easy. Her photo feed was (again unsurprisingly) filled with flowers, chickens, and deer. We were surprised, however, to discover recordings of Italian lessons, inspired, we think, by watching Il Divo XX Live from Taipei. She loved music and frequently exchanged favorite songs with her siblings.

Our Colorado mountains always called out to Carmen. She would play hooky with Gina and Obed when they were little, taking them to Estes Park instead of attending the final waning days of school. There was never a more magical place for them, and they will never look at a candy apple without thinking of her. She never skipped a mountain road trip, attending several Ride the Rockies events with Gina while her son-in-law insanely biked through the mountains. She sanely followed in the comfort of a car, enjoying Central City, Steamboat, Nederland, Grand Lake, Breckenridge, Crested Butte, and other mountain communities and hot springs.

Carmen also loved traveling and enjoyed places like Canada, France, Amsterdam, Belgium, Taiwan, and Mexico. She made new friends easily wherever she went - joyfully leaving a trail of friendship.

As a final note, Carmen loved life and taught her children and grandchildren to dance and sing in joy and glory to the day the Lord has made. Do not mourn her—mourn her absence from your earthly life. She is not dead. She is alive and safely in the arms of Jesus, dancing at the wedding feast of the Lamb (with a card game to follow after hours).

A Memorial Service will occur on Saturday, June 29, 2024, at 11:00 AM at the Eaton Christian Fellowship (aka Eaton United Methodist Church) at 303 Maple, Eaton, Colorado.