Matilde Rivera Torres

When Matilde Rivera Torres walked into the room, those in her company felt energy, an enthusiastic spontaneity. This was just one example of who Matilde was and how she impacted those around her. Matilde was a clever and gregarious person who always sought out the finest attributes in other people. It was as if Matilde wanted to share all of their experiences, revel in their lives and celebrate their discoveries. Matilde was tireless and had boundless enthusiasm that would serve her well throughout her life.

She was the daughter of Miguel Torres and Eutimia Rivera. Matilde was raised in Guanajuato, Mexico. Always at the ready with a good joke, she grew up to be quite a humorous person. While some who knew Matilde might describe her as an idealist, her friends and family understood well that Matilde was always in pursuit of life’s endless possibilities and opportunities available to her.

Matilde was raised with three siblings. She had two older brothers, Miguel II, Roberto and an older sister, Ramona. Matilde was very accepting and supportive of her family. She was perceived as the central person in her family in terms of keeping communication open between the family members. Whenever discord or tension arose within the home, Matilde was typically the member who brought about resolution and harmony. These traits served Matilde well in her adult life and, along with her wit, outgoing personality, and understanding of others, drew the admiration of many who knew her.

As a young girl, Matilde was able to empathize and identify with a vast array of people and personality types. This quality drew her into a diverse group of friends and acquaintances. Matilde was intelligent and had little trouble getting along with her peers. She was almost always the first to jump in when it came to playing games or participating in other childhood activities. Matilde took part in baseball. In her spare time she liked to pray. Matilde's memorable achievements included raising five children on her own. Matilde had the ability to find amusement with almost any activity she and the many childhood friends she shared might discover.

With a talent for making acquaintances easily which in turn brought her an endless stream of friends, Matilde was very sociable and could blend without effort into any social group. Assertive and outgoing, Matilde was easy to know and demonstrated a deep concern for others. She always seemed aware of what was going on with people around her and throughout her life she made many friends. While growing up, some of her best friends were Angie, Connie, Ramona Ramirez, Josefina Medina.

Matilde was a natural and creative parent who was willing to provide her family with all sorts of new and interesting experiences. For Matilde, parenting was a particularly enjoyable and pleasurable part of her life. Every activity, from chores to bedtime routines, became a game in the Torres home. Matilde's skill at understanding her children's feelings, her sensitivity to their needs, and her gift for gentle persuasion enabled her to find novel solutions to any problem or situation that might crop up. Matilde was blessed with five children: two sons, Eutimio and Miguel III, and three daughters, Bertha, Micaela and Maria.

Matilde was uplifted by new ideas and was excited by life’s possibilities, traits that made her an exceptional worker. Her primary occupation was giving shelter to the farm workers. She was employed for a fruit sorter. Matilde was enterprising, inventive and working against deadlines seemed to energize her. Matilde had the uncanny ability to identify a win/win solution to just about any problem, possibly because of her gift for insight. Matilde's fellow workers saw her as a supporter and a mentor.

Because Matilde loved to have a broad variety of activities in her life, she took advantage of the opportunity to pursue numerous hobbies. Her favorite pursuits were praying and spending time with her family. Matilde had a knack for being able to multi-task in order to create time for all of her favorite pastimes. However, Matilde's ever-present concern for others always took precedent.

Matilde derived much satisfaction from participating in and watching sports. Her charisma, supportive nature and ability to improvise when called upon to do so all made perfect attributes for enjoying a great many sporting activities. Matilde was also something of a sports fan and enjoyed watching her favorite events whenever she got the opportunity. Tops on her list were baseball.

Matilde's love of improvising in her daily life was a perfect fit for her enjoyment of traveling. Her favorite vacations were ones that were not planned. Traveling in a casual manor fit her personality well. Excited about seeing changing scenery and constantly looking for the enjoyment life could offer, Matilde took her vacations seriously, well, as seriously as she possibly could. Favorite vacations included going to Mexico.

Matilde was a lover of animals and cherished her pets. Puppy, a mixed Chihuahua, Blacky a mixed Chihuahua, Mr. Grey, a mixed Chihuahua, and Oso, a mixed Pitbull with Weenier dog., was a best friend for 14 years.

When Matilde's retirement finally came in 1990, Matilde handled it the way she usually did. She adapted and, like everything in her life, made it satisfying. Because she was such a flexible person and able to adjust to any situation, retirement was just another enjoyable change of pace for Matilde to master. Even in retirement, Matilde continued to stay in touch with her old friends and like always, made plenty of new ones.

Matilde Torres passed away on July 15, 2015 at Saint Agnes Hospital in Fresno, California. Matilde had pneumonia. She is survived by her five children and eighteen grandchildren. Services were held at St. Mary's Church. Matilde was laid to rest in Mountain View Cemetery in Fresno, California.

There was always a certain style and inventiveness to Matilde. She was a dynamic, self-expressive person who was forever looking to celebrate the endless possibilities life had to offer. She had a knack for being clever, creative and witty, and for others, was a joy to be around. While she was often fiercely independent, it seemed as if many others looked to Matilde Torres for inspiration, leadership, wisdom and even courage. Matilde was always more than willing to share life’s experiences with her loved ones.