Elisa T. Melendez

She was born July 28th, 1959 to Christina Tercero Gomez and Melchor Gomez in Van Horn, Texas. She was the fifth of eight children. When she was still a child, the family relocated to Phoenix, Arizona.

From a young age, she loved music. She’d often be caught singing or dancing, and claims to have gotten her rhythm from her father who was a drummer. As an adult, she’d often use the steering wheel and her brush as her own personal drum set. She loved karaoke and any occasion where there was a dance floor. It was hard to not have a good time anytime Lisa was around. Her singing voice alone would stop people from whatever they were doing just to come listen.

She was very competitive and grew up playing sports. Softball was her favorite. As a teenager, she’d joke that one day she’d have nine daughters so she could have her own all-girls softball team. She did participate in many other sports as well, where she’d shine as a natural. She could bowl your socks off as well as leave you in the chalk-dust at a game of billiards.

When she became a mother, she became a mother with her whole heart. She loved her children and dedicated her life to raising them. Always making sure their hair was brushed, their bellies were full, and that they had everything they needed; it can never be said that she didn’t put them first. Even as her children became adults, she remained a backbone for them and extended her loving care to her grandchildren, taking them in and helping to raise them in any way needed. She always remarked how proud she was of each of them and that they were her greatest achievement.

She loved family trips and gatherings, from excursions to Disneyland and the Grand Canyon, to camping and kicking back at the theater. Holidays, specifically Christmas and Thanksgiving, were times that she especially got to shine, being able to shower her loved ones with gifts and attention, and showing off her amazing cooking skills. Chicken tacos, enchiladas, and rice and beans was just one of her favorite dishes to make. And who can ever forget her amazing potato salad? (Yum!)

She loved beautiful things and always made the effort to take the best care of her surroundings. She took special pride in keeping her car spotless and shiny, even past the point that she could drive it. She decorated her home with carousels and other small mementoes that she collected over the years. When she later became less mobile, she expressed her love of beauty in taking blank pages in coloring books and filling them with vivid colors herself. She had a talent for putting life into even the most mundane things.

She is preceded in death by her father, her mother and her younger sister Carmen. She is survived by her husband of thirty years, Mario Oscar Melendez, her brothers Daniel, Michael and Albert, sisters Flora, Lucy and Christy, her children Jennie, Veronica, Victoria and Mario Javier, her grandchildren Alexander, Tiffany, Perla (Mercedes), Julia, Eden, Jonathan and Zaelie, as well as many in-laws, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

A visitation for Elisa will be held Friday, August 27, 2021 beginning at 1:30 PM with service from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM at Resthaven / Carr-Tenney Mortuary & Memorial Gardens, 4310 East Southern Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85042.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.resthavencarrtenney.com for the MELENDEZ family.