Frances Martha Estrada Cardenas

She spent her most memorable childhood years in Billings, Montana. She traveled with her family From California to Montana and finally settled in the Yakima Valley in the 1930's.

Mom loved to tinker with things and if she had lived in Fairyland her name would have been Tinkerbell. She did her own electrical, plumbing and remodeling jobs. Some days she would decide that her house didn't need a certain wall and by evening it was gone. She loved moving furniture so much that she had wheels installed on most of it so it would be easier to rearrange . In the 60's and 70's she farmed in Wapato. It was normal to see her driving tractor, spraying trees and irrigating. She loved to be outside gardening and working with tools. Frances was not able to finish her education as a child because she was working alongside her family. She was very proud of having earned her GED on April 8, 1981 at the age of 44.

Frances is survived by 11 children, Virginia Cardenas, Rosemary (Jose) Nunez, David (Melissa) Cardenas, Jose Manuel (Olga) Cardenas, Ernesto (Mary Lu) Cardenas, James Edward (Rachel) Cardenas, Alma (Julio) Rodriguez, Anita (Reyes) Martinez, Benito Cardenas, Dan (Carmen) Cardenas, Tony Cardenas and 25 grandchildren, 47 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild. She is also survived by two sisters, Carmen (Aurelio) Diaz, and Irene (Felipe) DelVillar and three sister-in-laws, Rose Lopez, Mary Lopez, and Jackie Balderas. Frances' constant companion to the end was her beloved dog ChaCha.

She is preceded in death by her siblings, Ignacio (Tomasa) Games, Felipe (Betty) Games, Pedro (Rosa) Lopez, Julian (Mary) Lopez, Bricio (Angelica) Balderas and Susana Madrigal.

A celebration of Frances' life will be held Wednesday, February 26, 2014 from 2:00 to 6:00 PM at Langevin-Mussetter Funeral Home, 1010 W. Yakima Ave. Yakima WA. Rosary will be held at 5:00 PM during the viewing. A reception will be held immediately after at Fruitvale Grange, 2908 Castlevale Rd., Yakima WA. To share a memory of Frances visit, www.lmfuneralhome.com.