Alyssa Lennette Lara

Alyssa Lennette Lara, 26, born in Mérida Yucatán Mexico, the birthplace of her father, to Sophia and Fernando Lara on November 5, 1993. She was a dual citizen of the United States of America and of Mexico.

Alyssa attended St. John Baptist de La Salle School in Granada Hills, California. After joining the parish swim team at 6 years old, she quickly became an avid swimmer. She continued swimming all throughout high school and college. Granada Hills Charter and Pierce College, respectively. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science

from California State University, Northridge in 2018. Although CSUN did not have a swim team, she still found herself by the pool, working on campus as a Life Guard and assistant pool manager. She also was a lifeguard at the City of San Fernando, and the County of Los Angeles and became manager at the San Fernando pool. She coached for De La Salle Swim, Triton Swim team as well as many others. Although she worked with every age group, she loved to work with kids. She was a dedicated coach, always reading books and studying methodology to help better herself as both an instructor and person.

Alyssa loved to travel. In the 6th grade she went to live with her aunt in Mérida to learn Spanish while attending school. She loved it so much that for her 9th grade year she begged to return to accompany her younger sister, Vanessa, in her year abroad to study Spanish. The two girls went to live with their aunt and three male cousins; a big adjustment for a household with all boys.

In 9th grade, she accompanied her mother to Milan, Italy. She learned Italian at the local highschool while her mother completed her masters degree. She loved to experience new cultures and learn new languages, making many friends in different countries. Alyssa was fluent in English, Spanish, Italian, and studying French. She took many trips to explore Europe with her friends, mother, and sister too. She loved the “Aperitivo” lifestyle and loved to share ‘Aperitivo’ with her friends everywhere.

Alyssa loved the outdoors, sports, and being in the water. If she wasn’t hiking, backpacking, camping, surfing, scuba diving, swimming, snowboarding, or traveling, she was spending quality time with her friends and family. She was also a Girl Scout from brownies to seniors, and a talented artist. As a young girl she attended Camp Lakota horse camp every summer. Her favorite thing to draw were horses. She also loved to whistle.

Snowboarding was her passion. She would drive up to Mammoth every chance she could get, sometimes by herself even, with no worries about where she would sleep. She couldn’t get enough of the thrill and wonder she found up in the mountains. She was so excited when she applied to be a Snowboard Instructor and got accepted. Her first year she earned Snowboard Instructor ‘Rookie of the Year’. This 2020 season was to be her third year at Mammoth as a Snowboard instructor and also helping out in the administration office.

In 2013 Alyssa adopted a 40 lb Husky mix named Lily, also known as Liliana, or as Alyssa liked to call her: “the prettiest girl”. Alyssa loved Lily; she was her best friend. She took Lily everywhere with her, including camping, boating, and even paddle boarding. Alyssa also has two ball pythons, Ramses and Moses.

After spending most of the summer looking for a dog friendly apartment, Alyssa and her boyfriend, Sam, were amidst moving into their new place in Mammoth. They were looking forward to spending this season together and were thrilled to finally be able to have Lily with them. She was planning to study for the LSAT during this 2020 snow season and planned to further her education in 2021. Her goal was to work in a foreign embassy or as an advocate for the underprivileged.

Alyssa was the kind of person who would drop everything if you needed her help. If she was your friend, you were her BEST friend. She was always ready to help, to listen, to offer advice, to coach, or to just sit and watch a movie with you. Alyssa was also strong, assertive, independent, and opinionated. She was excellent at getting her point across and if you did not agree with her, you at least gave in to her. She made a concerted effort to keep up on politics and stay informed. She loved to read, everything from political theory to Harry Potter. She was kind, beautiful, and caring. She cried the first time she stepped on a snail, she also cried the first time she saw an entire cooked chicken on the dinner table… not having realized at 5 yrs old that she had been eating ‘a chicken’.

We will forever miss her, we will mourn her loss as long as we live on this earth. As a family we pray that she is home in Heaven with our Heavenly Father, that she can now be our Angel to guide and watch over us until we meet again.

Alyssa Lara, 26, of Mérida, Yucatan Mexico, passed away on October 30, 2020 on State Route 14, north of Red Rock Canyon, Kern County California.

Catholic Vigil is January 7, 2021, 10:30am at St. John Eudes Catholic Church, Chatsworth CA

Officiating will be Father Robert MacNamara

Funeral services will be held at Eternal Valley, Friday, January 8, 2020, at 12 noon. Officiating Catholic Liturgy of the word will be Father Robert McNamara from St. John Eudes on the outdoor Terrace at Eternal Valley. Inurnment blessing will follow at the gravesite. Family and friends may gather again at the outdoor Terrace to share in a celebration of Alyssa’s life from 2-4pm.

Alyssa was the oldest of three children, she is survived by her sister Vanessa and brother Fernando, her mother Sophia and her father Fernando Lara. She is also survived by all four of her grandparents, on her father’s side Fernando Ariel Lara and Luisa Josefina Machado, and on her mother’s side Delores Jean Reasoner and Robert Mike Romero.

In lieu of flowers, the family has created a Memorial Scholarship fund to keep Alyssa’s memory alive year after year donations can be made by mail to:

Alyssa Lara Purple Snowboard Memorial Scholarship

c/o Mammoth Mountain Community Fund

P.O. Box 460, Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546

online to:

Alyssa Lara

Purple Snowboard Memorial Scholarship fund

https://mammothfoundation.org/pages/alyssa-lara-purple-snowboard-scholarship-fund

The family, in conjunction with Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, LLC, and Mammoth Mountain Community Foundation Fund, have created this scholarship in Alyssa’s name to benefit underprivileged youth and grant them the opportunity to visit and experience Mammoth Mountain. It is our goal that season after season young children will be able to learn to snowboard and experience the wonder of snowy mountains the way Alyssa did, and to learn about her and her Joie de Vivre.

The family will also work with Mammoth Corporation to create a scholarship for new snowboard instructors to obtain a scholarship for their Snowboard Certification Level training just like Alyssa did. She obtained her Level 1 and was ready to test for her Level II’s, there are a total of 3 levels of Snowboard Certification for Instructors.

The family would like to thank The Mammoth Corporation. They have been very gracious in accommodating our family on a recent visit to experience where Alyssa worked and lived. Alyssa had planned a ‘cousins retreat’ for Nov. 8-11, and we decided to carry out the retreat to honor her.