Toni Guerrero

Toni was born on the 13th of June 1937 in the sleepy oil refinery town of Port Arthur, Texas to Manuel & Delores Vara. Mom was the 5th born of 8 kids in the family. Mom is proceeded by her parents, brothers and sisters, Robert Vara, Ray Vara, Alice Hernandez, Raymond Vara, Rosie Wise, and Carol Chauvin. She has one younger surviving sibling, Oscar Vara of Winnie, Texas.

Mom had a hard life growing up in what can only be described as poverty stricken conditions, so much so that at the age of 13 she was sent to live with her God Parents as domestic help because of her dad's inability to feed so many children, even though he worked hard to care for his family, and her mom stayed home to raise the children.

During her teen years she attended Jefferson High School and would go to work at the local shrimp processing factory before going to school to make ends meet. She mentioned to us how the soles of her shoes had worn thru on her daily walk to school and she would have to use cardboard inside her shoes. Maybe that was the cause of her obsession with wearing and having a closet full of nice shoes of all types.

In the spring of 1955 dad was with his Air Force buddies at a dance in Port Arthur which is where dad met mom for the first time under the watchful eyes of moms brothers who were her chaperones, but that didn't stop dad from pursuing mom.

So mom and dad were married on 1 July 1956 and have been married for 62 years.

In the coming years a son, Manny, and two daughters, Debbie & Linda, were born and that would complete the Air Force family.

As a proud Air Force mom and wife, mom did her best with us when dad went away for extended periods due to temporary duty assignments. She always made sure we were well fed and clothed, and always had nice shoes, and tended to our needs as best a loving mother can. So mom was mom & dad, when dad did two, 1 year tours in Vietnam in 1968 & 1971, that was a stressful time for mom, worrying about dad, and taking care of us.

Mom liked all holidays, but her favorite time of the year was Christmas, probably because during her childhood her family was too poor to afford a Christmas tree or presents. Mom and dad made sure we always had a great Christmas with plenty of presents. Going forward, our Christmas', and all holidays, family gatherings, and birthdays will never be the same...

Whether it was dealing with Manny's clubbed feet as a baby, Chicken Pox, monitoring our fevers, or driving lessons, ...mom was always there for us day and night.

She never wavered or hesitated to help her kids in any situation that arose over the years, even in their adulthood. Mom enriched our lives and taught us life lessons and values that we have passed on to our families, and they to their families.

Mom has made many lifetime friendships throughout her life,...and she cherished them all. If any of them, friend or family, needed help, she would be there to help out in any way she could, that was mom.

If you knew mom, you know she had the gift of gab, she could talk for hours at a time and you were lucky to get a word in edgewise! She was also an expert at leaving lengthy voice mails.

Mom proved she was a fighter when she was diagnosed with breast cancer a few years ago. Even though she resisted the treatment, she underwent chemotherapy, and lost much of her hair, but with the help of medicine beat the cancer. Dad dutifully made sure she made it to her Dr appointments on a regular basis and it took a toll on him as well. And since being admitted to the Marquis long term care facility, dad had visited mom twice a day for hours at a time, for over a year. Thanks dad for giving and doing your best to comfort mom.

Ever since we can remember, mom had dealt with migraine headaches and nausea, but actually, she had them even as a young teen and suffered with them up until she was admitted to the assisted living facility, they just disappeared for some reason!

Mom held many jobs throughout her life, from working with dad at Krispy Creme doughnuts, and various department stores just to make ends meet and provide for our family. Mom had been a hard worker from a young age.

In the end, mom had a far better life with dad, than if she had stayed in Port Arthur,...her words. Her life with dad took her to Europe, the Far East, and everywhere in between.

Our family will never be the same with mom having to leave us, but we are grateful for the time the Good Lord allowed her to be with us. Mom, we will miss your outgoing personality, sense of humor, your from the gut laughter, smile, your hugs and kisses, hearing you say you love us, and everything about you every second of the day, and look forward to the day when we will see each other again.

She is survived by her husband, Manny Sr of N. Las Vegas, son, Manny of Wildomar, California, daughter, Debbie Splane of Corona Del Mar, California, and Linda Chauvin of Bow, Washington, 8 Grandsons, Tommy, Nickolas, Alexander, Gabriel, Brandon, Cody, Sinjion, Keton, and 2 Great-Grand Children, Kayden and Penelope.

All were her pride and joy. Mom lived for her family. As her last act of love and devotion, we encouraged her to hang on a little longer, just until our sister Linda's flight arrived from out of state...and that's exactly what she did! As I mentioned earlier, mom was a fighter...to the end!

MOTHERS DAY 5/13/18

Mom, the best part of being kids was being YOUR kids. You always put our needs first before your own. Never burdened us with your own problems. You always made sure we had clothes on our backs, shoes on our feet, food in our bellies, toys in our toy box, help with our homework, mending our boo boos, and a firm hand when we needed it, but always with the love only a loving mother can provide. We didn't turn out too bad, right? We cherish you as you cherish us mom, and we always will! Thanks for being OUR mom!

Happy Mothers Day! Love,