Elena Arellanes Medina

Elena Arellanes Medina was born on August 18th, 1930 in Durango, Mexico. At a young age, she was adopted by the Posada family. She grew up on a ranch outside of Durango, Mexico with her brothers and sisters. On the ranch, she lived a simple life, tending to the household and tending to the ranch household. In 1959, when she was 29 years old, she decided to immigrate to the United States in pursuit of the American Dream.

Elena first traveled to El Paso, Texas, and worked as a maid cleaning houses. It was there that she met Guadelupe Justino Medina. They fell in love, and were married on June 14th, 1960 date in El Paso, Texas. They had their first born child in 1961. From there, Elena and her small family moved to the San Fernando Valley in Southern California. They had three more children born in Encino, California. Altogether she had two daughters, two sons, and she adopted one additional daughter.

While she was raising her family, Elena worked as a full time house cleaner running her own small business and obtained her American citizenship. She was a devout Catholic and devoted her time on Sundays as a eucharistic minister and volunteered for organizing religious events for St. Catherine of Siena church for about 50 years. She was also a firm believer in hard work, and ran her small business until she was 89 years old.

Elena was very generous in her love with her family, her friends, and others who needed any type of assistance. Elena knew what it was like being a female immigrant coming to a new land, and she tried to support others who were in pursuit of a better life in America. She particularly supported women from Latin America. She gave them shelter, food, and anything they may need to establish themselves to be an independent person. It was her hope that these young people would realize their true potential and their goals if she helped them out.

Described as being very traditional and classical, Elena enjoyed getting together with family and friends. She enjoyed hosting special events in her house with her family. These events included religious occasions, holidays, and birthdays. All of her family and friends were invited - regardless of what was occurring in or outside of the family. It was because of that the family got to celebrate with each other on multiple occasions throughout the year, and developed a strong bond with each other. Known as an extraordinary chef, at these hosted events she would make both classic Mexican dishes such as tamales, chile rellenos, and handmade flour tortillas, as well as American dishes such as potato salad. She loved dancing with her husband and friends, as well as praying the rosary and reading the bible at church or in her house. She hosted many group rosaries when others in the community needed prayers, as a way to show her support when prayer was all she could do.

Elena passed away peacefully in her house, surrounded by close family members. She is survived by her children, as well as her four granddaughters and three grandsons.

A visitation for Elena will be held Friday, February 25, 2022 from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Bastian and Perrott, Oswald Mortuary, 18728 Parthenia Street, Northridge, California 91324. A funeral service will occur Saturday, February 26, 2022 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at St. Catherine of Siena Church, Sherman Way, Reseda, California 91335. A committal service will occur Saturday, February 26, 2022 from 11:00 AM to 11:30 AM at San Fernando Mission Cemetery, 11160 Stranwood Ave., Mission Hills, California 91345.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.BastianandPerrott-OswaldMortuary.com for the Medina family.