Maria Cuevas

Maria Teresa Cuevas, 35, passed away peacefully with her family by her side on June 15th, 2014 after a courageous two year battle with cancer. She was born on June 1st, 1979 to Jacinto and Consuelo Cuevas in Michoacan, Mexico. Teresa and her family migrated to the Gleed/Selah area in 1980 where she spent her childhood. Later in life, Teresa moved to Zillah and worked for Yakama Legends Casino as a floor manager for over 10 years. She loved her time at the casino and made many lifelong friendships with her co-workers. During this period of time, she married Juan Esquivel and together they had four beautiful children; Vanessa, Marcos, Erik, and D’ana. Teresa’s children were her passion and she always considered them her greatest accomplishment. Teresa enjoyed coaching Vanessa’s basketball teams and became a mentor to many of Vanessa’s teammates over the years. She supported her children in all they chose to do and wanted to give them everything she possibly could. Teresa was a fierce mother and a champion for each of her four children and their passions. Teresa also enjoyed spending time with her family. She was always the life of the party and could light up any room with her abundance of energy and her beautiful smile! Holidays and family gatherings were her favorite, whether it be organizing and playing games with the kids, singing songs at Christmas, or playing her all-time favorite game Spanish Loteria. Teresa always knew how to make people smile and there was never a dull moment when she was around. In July 2009, Teresa met and fell in love with Anthony “Tony” Anderson. Shortly after, she and her children moved to Warm Springs, Oregon with Tony and his three children; Germaine, JessLynn, and Amissa. Teresa loved his children dearly and always considered them her own. Teresa will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her. She was preceded in death by her father, Jacinto Cuevas, and was reunited with him on Father’s Day. She is survived by her children: Vanessa, Marcos, Erik, and D’ana Esquivel; her mother Maria Consuelo Cuevas; her sisters: Bertha (Jose) Reyna, Maria “Coca” (Andres) Chacon, Mariana (Jose) Vergara, and Leticia Cuevas (Pat Ditter); her brothers: Rosendo (Cruz) Cuevas, Miguel (Rosa) Cuevas, Andres (Maribel) Cuevas, Nasario (Bekah) Cuevas, Ramon (Imelda) Cuevas, and Rafael (Summer) Cuevas; as well as numerous aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins. The family would like to extend a special thank you to Dr. Calomeni and staff at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, Oregon, Cottage in the Meadow Hospice Care Facility and Dr. Brady and staff at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital. Viewing and visitation can be made Thursday, June 19th from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. at Valley Hills Funeral Home in Terrace Heights. Recitation of the Rosary will be held at 6:00 pm on Thursday at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Selah. Mass and celebration of Teresa’s life will be Friday, June 20th at 10:00 a.m. at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Selah. Tributes can be left at www.valleyhillsfh.com. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Maria Cuevas, please visit our flower store.