Katie M. Cereceres, born May 24, 1928, passed away on October 10 at the age of 91. She is survived by her loving daughter, Cecelia Lobdill of San Luis Obispo and her devoted son, James Cereceres of Sacramento. She was a beloved grandmother to Michael, Reade, Adrian, Cammy and Maycee as well as two great grandchildren, Michael and Araya.
Here is Katie’s life in her own words:
My mother, Isabel Garcia Ortiz, wanted one of her children to be born in Mexico where she was born. So when she was 8 months pregnant, she traveled by train back to Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico. My father worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad so he got free passes on the train for his family. I was born in my grandmother's house on May 24, 1928. She brought me back to Sacramento when I was a month old. I had 5 brothers and 1 sister. My sister died when she was 2 years old from spinal meningitis. I was 4 years at that time. My youngest brother, Arnold, died at age 23 soon after he came home from the service. He was in an automobile accident.
When I was 6 years old, I was playing with matches and my organdy dress caught on fire and I was burned very badly. My mother heard me screaming and rushed outside and ripped my clothing off. Our next door neighbor came running out with a blanket and took us to the hospital. The doctor told my mother that he did not think I would survive so my mother said if I was going to die, she wanted me to die at home. By some miracle (my mother must have been praying a lot), I survived.
I went to Lincoln School and graduated from the 9th grade. I then went to Sacramento High
School. I had to go on the trolley every day. As I was very shy, I did not participate in any extra
curricular activities; no school dances, no football games, etc. I took shorthand classes and
after graduating high school, I got a job for the State of California with the Board of Equalization as a stenographer.
The same year that I graduated, I was asked if I wanted to run for queen of the Mexican Independence Day celebration in Sacramento which is in September. I came in third place. John's sister, Ruth, was the outgoing queen and she had to hand over her crown to the new queen. John was her escort. I knew John from going to all the big band dances. We both loved to dance. I would go to the dances with a bunch of girlfriends and he went with all his friends. We all danced with each other. All my girlfriends were after John because he was tall, good looking and available. We started dating a couple of years later and were married on November 12, 1950. I quit my job with the State when I was pregnant with David. We had 2 more children, Cecelia and James. I stayed home with the children for 17 years.
In 1969, I took a course in Medical Transcribing and, after completing the course, I found work in a doctor's office. At first, I only typed medical histories. I soon learned all other duties in a doctor's office, making appointments, bookkeeping and eventually assisting the doctor in translating with the Spanish speaking patients. I worked for 10 years and eventually had to quit because of problems with one of the other workers.
In 1971, our beloved son, David, died. He was involved in an automobile accident. No parent should have to live through the death of a child. Now I know what my mother must have gone through losing 2 children.
John and I had been travelling a lot and continued to do so until we found we were getting too old
And did not think we could continue. By then we had been to Hawaii, England, Scotland, Wales,
Ireland, Greece, Turkey, Jerusalem, Morocco, Rock of Gibraltar, Portugal, Japan, Singapore,
Thailand, Cost Rica, Mexico and cruised the Caribbean. We had lots of fun travelling with many of our dear friends.
In 2000, after celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary, I had a left knee replacement. While recuperating, I managed to crochet 5 afghans.
Katie is preceded in death by her darling husband, John P. Cereceres, her adored son, David Charles Cereceres, as well as all six of her siblings. She and John loved the big band sounds and we are sure she has joined him now and the two of them are dancing up a storm in heaven.
Services will be held at St. Joseph’s Chapel in St. Mary’s Cemetery, 6700 21st Avenue, Sacramento, on Wednesday, October 16 at 10 am. Rosary will be on Tuesday evening, October 15, at 7 pm at Harry Nauman & Son, 4041 Freeport Blvd.
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