Maria Eustasia B. Avalos

Maria was born on March 29, 1935, in Crystal City, Texas to Ebaristo Barraza and Natalia Arenas Barraza. Sadly, Natalia passed away when Maria was nearly two years old, and she was raised by her grandparents Atanacio Barraza and Estefana Madrujano Barraza. She married on November 14, 1959, in Crystal City, Texas to Jose C. Avalos and had five (5) children, Mary, Joe, Stella, Tony and Christine. She moved to Colorado in 1966-1967 and made Colorado her permanent home.

She was a devoted mother who stayed at home to raise her children and when she did work, she worked in the fields as a migrant worker, the local pickle factory and the Armadillo restaurant in Fort Collins. Her children were her strength during the rough times and her unwavering patience made her strong. She loved animals, Spanish music, reading her bible, taking walks, watching her soap operas, but most of all, she adored spending quality time with her family.

There are not enough words to begin to express to everyone the beautiful person that Maria was and even if there were, we still would not be able to capture this true angel here on earth. She was a beautiful soul both inside and out. She was the kindest, most loving, most compassionate, and most forgiving person that we were ever blessed to know. She had a heart of gold and loved her family above all. There was not a mean bone in her body, and we could always count on her unconditional love and although small in stature, she was strong and feisty when she needed to be. The true matriarch of our family always had a constant loving presence about her that shaped each, and every one of us in our family.

She will be remembered for her contagious smile, her sweet soft laughter (always covering her mouth when she did), her warm hugs, her heartfelt kisses, her words of wisdom and her delicious cooking. We were blessed with an amazing wife, mother, sister, daughter, grandmother and great grandmother. Her departure leaves a deep wound in our hearts, and she will be greatly missed.

Preceded in death by her father Ebaristo Barraza, mother Natalia Arenas, sister Maria Barraza Luna, half-sister Estefana Guarneros and half-brother Juan Barraza Sr.

Survived by her husband Jose C. Avalos, children Mary Gomez (Bibiano), Joe Avalos (Ludy), Stella Anderson (Donny), Tony Avalos (Emily), Christine Brown (Jay Frydendall), grandchildren Jacqui Salas (Antonio), Naomi Gomez, Dallas Hernandez (Amanda), Vincent Avalos, Vanessa Avalos, Carissa Avalos, great grandchildren Nadia Gomez, Atiana Salas and her beloved fur baby Flor Avalos; half-siblings Enrique Barraza, Dominga Barraza, Juan Manuel Barraza, Elsa Laureles and Juanita Wray.

A private funeral service will be held.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Larimer County Humane Society and Pathways Hospice in Fort Collins.

“Goodbyes are not forever and certainly not the end. They simply mean I’ll miss you, until we meet again.”