Bertha is survived by her children Sam, Georgene, Jean, Manuel, and Paula; 11 grandchildren, Jeremy, Casey, Alexandria, Melissa, Michael, Joshua, Shawn, Brittany, Bryce, Jaymz, and Eliana; 7 great grandchildren, 6 brothers and 4 sisters.
She was preceded in death by her first husband Eliud (Shorty) Arguijo of 20 years, her second husband Roger Anderson of 28 years, her parents, 4 brothers and 3 sisters. The family will be celebrating her life on Wednesday May 21, 2014 in a private service.
In Lieu of flowers please make donations to Hospice of the Valley.
Bertha was born and raised in Texas where she learned the meaning of hard work and a great sense of responsibility early on in life. She helped care for her younger siblings, while helping her family make ends meet by working in cotton fields. While Bertha’s childhood was less than typical, her upbringing played an integral role in shaping the person she’d become.
As a young adult, Bertha married her first love, Eluid “Shorty” Arguijo. Together they began a 20 year journey, in the mid-60s they moved from Texas to Phoenix, Arizona where they raised their three children, Sam, Georgene and Manuel. In 1980, Shorty unexpectedly passed away. This unfortunate event started a new chapter in Bertha’s life – creating new experiences for her. One of which was learning to drive for the first time after obtaining her driver’s license. As well as raising her youngest son Manuel as a newly single mother.
In 1982, Bertha married Roger Vernon Anderson - uniting two families, both with children who had lost a parent. Bertha embraced Roger’s two young daughters, Jean and Paula, as her own. Together Bertha and Roger raised Jean, Manuel and Paula in their home in central Phoenix. Family was at the center of everything Bertha and Roger did, whether it was taking long road trips to Minnesota, Iowa and Texas during the summer or hosting big family dinners with all the children, grandchildren and close friends - it was all about family. In December of 2010 Bertha and Roger celebrated 28 years of marriage. In May of 2011, Roger passed away.
For most of her life, Bertha’s primary job was being a homemaker. While she did work outside of the home sometimes to help support the family. She was a very nurturing mother and grandmother it was important to Bertha to always be home when her children and grandchildren were home. Bertha was a strong and protecting wife and mother.
In 1998, Bertha developed a severe illness that greatly impacted her life from that point on – physically and emotionally - for over 16 years. Though Bertha never fully healed or returned to the life she had prior, still she maintained a strong will throughout. This however, is not what Bertha will be most remembered for. Bertha will be remembered for the unconditional love she gave to her family, going out of her way to help others, being involved in numerous activities, her amazing cooking, her obsession with novellas, her dance moves, her bright smile, and her amazing ability to comfort and nurture those around her. She will forever be loved and greatly missed.
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