Mrs. Alicia Rose Enriquez

Alicia Rose Enriquez was born on August 18, 1956, in San Jose California. She passed away on Wednesday June 17, 2015, after a brief but courageous battle with cancer. She drew strength from her love of God and fought back against tremendous odds and pain, to gain the time necessary to allow her children to travel long distances in order to be by her bedside. In the end, her will was stronger than the cancer that ravaged her body and she was able to have a few final precious moments with her “babies”. In many respects, Alicia lived her final days in the same way she had lived her life. Always fighting and pushing back against the circumstances that might have defeated a person of lesser strength. Her belief in God and love of family enabled her to raise five wonderful children, earn a Bachelor of Science Degree from Fresno State University and a Master in Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling degree from San Diego State University, and have a 25 plus year- career helping people with disabilities to become employed. Her love of education continued throughout her life, completing a number of certificate programs in specialized areas like mental health counseling, Post Employment Training in Native American Rehabilitation (PET-AIR). The number of certificates and recognitions are simply too long to list and she would most likely not want it done. She loved attending conferences and other training events, all with the intended purpose of improving her skills to better serve persons with disabilities. While not an expert with technology, she nevertheless loved the challenge of making technology work for her and the clients she served. She developed internet based career assessment tools that allowed her clients to participate in charting their careers. She believed in the idea that if “you educate a woman, you educate a family”. And most importantly she lived by the ideal that everyone deserved to be treated with dignity and respect. Alicia loved to travel, to dance, explore new cities, and make new friends. She and her husband Manuel were able to take many memorable trips together and along the way, make many friendships that continue to this day. To say that Alicia loved to shop is an understatement of the highest order. Shopping for Alicia was very much like a competitive sport. The object of the game was to bargain the price down as much as possible and then bring out the coupon for an additional 10% off, and earning the admiration of the salesperson after being bested by a worthy opponent. She had a generous heart that made it easy for people in need to reach out to her and she would respond without judgment or scorn. She never forgot the challenges she faced growing up and raising her children and it was from those experiences that her values of compassion and humility sprang forth. Alicia’s greatest accomplishment and what she was most proud of, was her family. Her husband Manuel, their children Arturo Aldana and his wife Karen, Leal Aldana, Mark Enriquez and his wife Sabrina, Bonnie Morales and her husband Matt, Angela Barbe, Roberto Gonzalez and his wife Jennifer and their 15 grandchildren (soon to be 17). Alicia is also survived by her mother Angie Garcia, her sister Rafaela, her brothers Leo, Larry and Juan, and numerous cousins, nephews and nieces. Alicia had many more things that she wanted to do and accomplish. Most importantly, she wanted to be able to continue supporting and mentoring her children, grandchildren, her nieces and nephews. And she was looking forward to her retirement and being able, along with her husband, to explore faraway places and experience other cultures. While it is difficult to understand the reasons why she left us so soon, it’s comforting to know that she is safe and at peace in the arms of the Lord.

Visitation will be held at Whitehurst, Sullivan, Burns & Blair Funeral Home on Thursday, June 25, 2015 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. followed by a Funeral Service at 11:00 a.m.