Aurelia Garcia Aguilar

Aurelia “Tony” Aguilar, passed away on Saturday afternoon, October 26, 2024, after a full life of 98 years. She was a strong, loving woman with a crazy sense of humor. She loved to dance, sing songs and dance around with her dogs and cats. She always saw the best in everyone and that was evident by the many friends she had of all ages. Many times, she met her neighbors by taking fresh, home-made tortillas as a welcome. We would say that any stray dog or cat who came to our door had found its way to pet heaven. There was always a bowl of water and food for them.

She worked at J. B. Sutton Elementary School for many years in the cafeteria. Her co-workers and the children were her close friends and they shared fun times together while preparing and serving meals to the students and teachers. She even saved a co-workers life by performing the Heimlich maneuver on her when she choked on a grape. And this was with no formal CPR training, only from reading the informational poster that hung on the kitchen wall. Tony also saved her goldfish when it had jumped out of its’ bowl. She picked it up from the floor and gently puffed into its mouth, placed it back in the bowl where it then revived and swam around again!

We have memories of my mom and dad, Jose Aguilar, who passed in 2000, dancing in the living room to their favorite Mexican music and we always had music playing in our house. Tony was an avid reader and she would often take us to the public library and art museum, instilling in us a love for books and art. From Greek mythology, fairy tales, magic, fiction and non-fiction, painting and sculpture, the world opened up to us.

For the last 20 years of Tony’s life, she lived with her grandson Kevin, and their cats Bootsy and Jonesy. They had a close bond and spent time watching nature shows and sharing many laughs and talks about life, Her passing was sad, funny and beautiful and we were fortunate to be gathered around her. As she lay breathing her last, we prayed and then we sang her favorite song, Home on the Range. And with that she left! Was our singing that bad? No, Jesus had finally come to take her home. Tony is now in heaven, dancing with her pets, tending to her flowers and feeding the birds in her garden. She is survived by her daughters, Susan Burtch (husband Doug Burtch), Patti Aguilar (husband Duane Goff), grandson Kevin Raso and nephew Manuel Garcia. The oldest of five children, she has a surviving younger sister, Rozy Hinojos.

We love you mom, thank you for caring for us and loving us.