Virginia M. Chavez

Virginia M. Chavez (Virgie) passed away surrounded by family and beloved friends on December 8, 2024. Virginia is survived by her son Steven, his wife Dana, daughters Juliana, Jayden, and Jamie; her daughter Tamara, her husband Matt, daughter Amaya; her son Cedric, his wife Amanda, daughter Elena and son Benjamin; her daughter Sandra, her husband Nathan, their sons Manny and Elliott. She is also survived by her sister Margaret Fresquez. Virginia was preceded in death by her husband Louis Chavez, son Phil Chavez, mother Clara Mendiola, father Manuel Mendiola, her sister Isabel Alvarez, and her brothers, Doroteo, Octavio, Guadalupe, John, Manuel (Lito), Joe, and Celestino.

Virginia delighted in all things family. Her favorite childhood memories always included stories of her brothers and sisters around the family home and the dance hall Cielito Lindo. She boasted about how well her mom and brothers were recognized in the community for their generosity and civic leadership. Virgie's father passed away when she was only six years old, leaving her mom seven brothers, and two sisters to take care of her and provide for the family. As the baby of the family, she had 9 older siblings to help guide her through life, with her brothers acting like an army of extra dads. She has nephews and nieces that were close in age and spent much of her time with them. She had countless stories of how "the boys" and their wives cared for her as she grew up, even giving her away at her wedding.

Louis' cousin described him as being smitten with Virginia and she was all he could talk about, but he was too shy to approach her. Finally, his cousin Sonny arranged their first encounter. After dating, they married on September 5, 1964. They were the first of Virginia's and Louis' families to move to Santa Fe. They were followed by Virginia's brothers and their families to continue the family construction business. Louis brought to the relationship his only little sister Lily, who would later become Virginia's extra sister and best friend. Not long after moving to Santa Fe, they began their own family with their firstborn Phil in 1967, then Steven, Tamara, and Cedric, and rounded the family off with the youngest Sandra, in 1985. Each child reflects bits and pieces of both parents. They are good cooks, bakers, painters, organizers, artists, dancers, and leaders, but mostly, they are dedicated family members, just like their mom and dad.

Virginia often talked about her family's military service and got tears when speaking about their service in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and Desert Storm. Virginia was an incredible leader, who often organized events for church, Girl Scout cookies, weddings, catering public events, organizing the family business, and her work events as a bookkeeper.

Virginia well was known as being an expert cook and baker. She catered large parties and decorated wedding cakes. Her kids' friends loved coming around the house because there was always great food to eat. She enjoyed sewing even to the point of making her first daughter-in-law a wedding dress. Her masterpiece was a family quilt with patches representing all the family members.

There are many ways to describe Virginia, but all those ways pale in comparison to her best duty ever. A bragging, cooking, spoiling, loving, cheerleader, craft-making, magical Christmas and birthday celebrating, warm and caring grandma. Her grandchildren quickly taught her actual children how to be in second place and just let grandma (nama) do the loving. Watching Virginia interact with her grandchildren was like magic.

The Chavez Family wishes to thank everyone for their generosity over the years and for all the love, caring, and fellowship. A very special thank you to Linda Alvarez, Tracy Villareal, Audrey Esquibel, and Maida Esquibel. We are eternally grateful for the extra care, love, and assistance. We know there are enough stories to fill volumes about our remarkable daughter, sister, wife, mom, grandma, and friend, feel free to share those stories with us. God Bless you all