Ramona Rose Acosta (Picaso)

Obituary

 

Ramona Rose Acosta (Picaso) birth: November 8, 1927: death: April 28, 2025

 

A memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, June 6th, 2025,

at Romero’s Funeral Home, at 4750 Tejon Street, Denver, CO 80211

Following the memorial, there will be a reception at El Centro del Barrio

1351 W 38th Avenue, Denver, CO 80211.

Ramona has been cremated and will join her husband, Julio Acosta,

in their crypt later on at Crown Hill Mortuary and Cemetery

 

 

 

Ramona Rose Acosta, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister, aunt, vecina, and friend, was 97 years young when she passed away peacefully in her daughter’s home in Lakewood, Colorado, on April 28th, 2025, leaving a void her family and friends will feel for a long time.

 

Ramona, (Ramey), was born on November 8th, 1927, in Denver, Colorado. She was a true North Sider who attended Brian Webster, Horace Mann Middle School, and quit school before going to North High School. She contracted an illness that was related to epilepsy, and she missed almost an entire year of school, leaving her way behind her classmates in academics. Ramona’s quiet and warm presence will be missed. She was a caregiver and was always there to give comfort and support. She found joy in life’s simple pleasures, being

with her viejo, Julio, going fishing, going to the Flea Market helping amistades sell fruits and vegetables. Mom and Dad were wonderful dancers of soft sultry boleros. They were the first ones out on the dance floor. Ramona was a “fisherman.” She and Dad would go all over to fish and bring home the trout to feast on. Dad taught her how to fish and would put the worm on her hook at the beginning. After she started catching more fish than Dad, he had his vieja do that chore herself. Mom had a few fears. She was deathly afraid of being in deep water, ponds and rivers because of frogs and snakes. Mom almost drowned as a child and that fear never left her. She pushed her fear aside to fish, but was always on the lookout. Ramona and Julio were married after two weeks of meeting each other in Juarez and celebrated sixty-five years of marriage. Mom passed away on their wedding anniversary.

 

Ramona loved going to the casinos playing the penny and nickel machines. She usually came back a winner. She loved visiting with her ten siblings and all her nephews and nieces, también visitando a sus comadres y vecinos. She often had a baby blanket already crocheted for the next coming newborn baby. She made beautiful afghans for family and later made potholders she proudly gave away to so many. Mom was a great cook and baker. Her forte was making stacks of homemade tortillas, chiles, moles, enchiladas, menudo, and other favorite Mexican and American dishes. She baked the best pies and was proud to sell slices at a high price to customers when she worked at Nita’s Restaurant on Lipan Street in the North Side.

 

Mom loved going on trips with her viejo and kids to see the relatives in Juarez, El Paso, Chihuahua, Michigan, California, Las Vegas and Nebraska. The nephews and nieces treated Mom with great regard, respect, love and inclusion. Mom never said, “No,” to any trip, or outing or event, anywhere. She was always on the go and would wear us out. Mom took great pride in any work she did. Her home was always clean and welcoming although she had her seven children and their friends coming in and out of the home to share in the food and kindness she had to offer. Ramona was a housewife but also worked as a teacher’s helper and a cook for the Mapleton School District. She also was a housekeeping supervisor at the Travel Lodge and in maintenance at St Anthony’s Hospital. Mom was a hard worker and often was asked to take care of other’s section because patients and nurses requested her as she left the rooms spotless. She also would share time and conversation with the patients, comforting complete strangers.

 

Ramona took great pride in being neat and tidy. She was a beautiful morena with the best smile and contagious laugh. She always had to have her hair brushed and had to have her hair dyed once she started going silver. She dyed her hair until she was 96. She wore medium gold dangling earrings daily and applied deep red lipstick if she were out and about. She always was a petite woman whose beauty shone inside and out.

 

Mom would rarely be seen without her daughter, Esther, by her side. Ramona’s children, grandchildren and great grandchildren were her heart. She was able to spend much of her love and care with her great granddaughter, Estrella, whom she called “her inspiration.” Ramona and Julio came to live with Estrella, with her daughter, Esther, and her favorite son in law, Jay Alire, fifteen years ago in 2010 after their home caught fire. Ramona’s husband and youngest daughter both died within four months after moving into her daughter’s home. Ramona fell and suffered a fractured hip at this tragic time. This was one fractured hip out of four total hip fractures in the next several years. At the age of 93, Ramona lost

three more of her children then at age 95 she lost her fifth child. Ramona was strong and moved forward with her life in a positive way.

 

Ramona’s life was filled with Estrella’s Mexican folklórico dancing, Mariachi Music and singing, Estrella’s school choir and orchestra performances, and all that her family shared in life together along with their many friends, events, and Native American ceremonies that Ramona became a part of and loved. She loved her visits and phone calls from her son, Julio. Ramona was truly blessed in her long life.

 

Ramona is survived by her daughter, Esther Acosta, and Esther’s husband, Jay Alire, along with her great granddaughter, Estrella Acosta-Alire. She also leaves behind her son, Julio Acosta, seven grandchildren and a total of seven great grandchildren, and countless number of beloved nephews and nieces.

 

She was preceded in death by her parents, Refugio Picaso (1888-1965) and Augustina Macias Picaso (1894-1949). Her twelve siblings, Her husband, Julio Acosta (1925-2010), her children: Patricia Trujillo (1946-2021), David Acosta (1948-2023), John Acosta (1950-2021), Lorraine Acosta (1954-2020), and Madelynn Acosta (1964-2010).

 

We celebrate the life of Ramona Acosta who was filled with kindness and love and lived a very long, full, rich life, touching family and friends deeply. Her legacy is one of unwavering devotion to her family and her friends. She survived insurmountable tragedies and losses in her life with dignity, with integrity, with moving forward as best she could in her 97 years of living.

 

Ramona’s memory will be treasured forever. We will hold her close in our hearts, in our minds, in our prayers. We will laugh when we remember her trying to be mean, trying to be funny, trying to sing, trying to exercise, and trying to run, she moved so slowly. We will laugh at our crazy moments together and remember how we struggled at times with her dementia, but we survived with such precious memories to hold on to forever.

 

Contributions can be made to

Seniors Resource Center

(303) 238-8151

[email protected]

3227 Chase Street Wheat Ridge, CO 80212