Priscilla Della Minafo

Priscilla Graxiola Minafo July 17, 1921 - September 4, 2010 Our beloved Mom passed quietly and peacefully after a brief illness. Her son Ron and her daughter Bonnie were by her side. She was 89 years old. Mom was the first born of five children to Ida and Feliciano Graxiola. She spoke with pride to be a ?True Monterey Native,? born at home, just off Alvarado Street, Downtown Monterey. Mom attended Walter Colton School as well as Monterey Union High. She loved to tell the story of Tularcitos Elementary School in Carmel Valley. It was opening week, not having met their quota of students, they called on our grandmother to ?loan? the school her children so the school could open their doors. Mom, her brothers William and Thomas were ?happily loaned? for several weeks. But the donkey cart ride down the hill from Robles del Rio proved long and boring. Lunch was always eaten on the way to school. Mom was so proud of her heritage. She would always reflect on her life and say, ?Life was so simple here way back when.? Perhaps not easy, but it was a time and of an era, when hard working families, friends and neighbors, rich or poor, all saw each other through some difficult times. Mom said, ?A spontaneous fiesta in the alley (Alma Street) at any given day was not out of the ordinary. We had fun back then.? Her first job was at the Pep Creamery on Alvarado. Mom?s beauty was legendary, ?business boomed while she was there,? friends of hers would tell us. This is also where she met our Dad, local baseball champ, Vincent ?Derby? Minafo. Mom and Dad were married in January of 1941. Their son Ronald Vincent was born in 1943, daughter Bonnie Jean in 1949. In spite of divorce in 1958, Mom and Dad remained committed and loyal to each other for life. While Dad worked the Purse Seiners on the bay, Mom worked at Hovden Cannery. Side by side with family and life long friends, an era long since passed, but for those like Mom, whose lives were steeped in the rich and colorful history of Monterey. It was a blessed time for all who lived it. ?The Row,? Mom would say, ?what a place.? We took ?critters? to Doc Rickett?s. Flora Woods would ?Take Tea? with grandmother on Sundays. We knew a lot of the John Steinbeck characters that he wrote about. What a place to grow up. We even saw Marilyn Monroe filming ?Clash by Night?. Mom had treasured stories of summers in Big Sur with the Geer family and cattle round ups with Doud family. Grandmother even stepped in to care for Robert Louis Stevenson as he recovered from the flu?.now that?s some history. In 1961 Mom joined the staff at CHOMP and took great pride in being part of the first staff to open the new hospital after its completion. Dad, at the time was on the construction crew. She worked in housekeeping for seventeen years. Upon retirement, she devoted the rest of her life to her family. Mom spent the last ten months of her life in the gracious warmth, love and care of the El Camino Real Manor and under the gentle wings of Hospice of the Central Coast. She brought joy and love to all of her ?roommates?. (We heard rumors of dancing and karaoke in the halls.) In return, they gave Mom?s last months of life endless love, peace and comfort. To all that made such a difference, not only to Mom, but to us, please know that we are eternally grateful. Mom was preceded in death by her beloved parents, her sister Anita, brothers Thomas and William and our dad Derby. In her passing she leaves her son Ron Minafo, daughter Bonnie Archer, brother Richard Graxiola, grandchildren Damon Archer, Tina Eiken, Rhonda Nelson, Ron Minafo Jr., seven great grandchildren, Carley, Kayla & Marcus Eiken, Kaitlyn & Blake Nelson, baby James McLaren & newborn Sienna Rose Archer, all our beloved pets, Leroy, Casey & Felix whose loyalty and love for Mom was heartfelt by all. She also leaves numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. Not long ago on a drive around the bay I recall Mom?s words??wow, look at that bay, just think I was born here so so long ago. We all worked so hard back then. I feel we never had the time to enjoy all of this beauty. Now that I am old, I feel I can finally relax and appreciate my life and where I am from.? Always here for us in life?looking over us in passing. You were loved by all Mom. Your beautiful bay will be here for eternity, just as you will live on within us all. To honor mom?s wishes no service will be held. She was blessed and quietly laid to rest at the San Carlos Cemetery in her beloved Monterey. As always, her son and daughter were at her side. Donations to the Hospice of the Central Coast in Mom?s honor would be most appreciated.