Maria Gonzalez

Maria S. Gonzalez, 89, passed away peacefully in the comforts of her home, under the warm loving hands of her sisters, sons, daughters, and numerous grandchildren on August 16, 2021. Mary was born December 26, 1931 in Worland, Wyoming, to Juan and Dolores Sandoval. Her parents and siblings Tony, Alex and Sister Jenny moved to Wapato in 1943 when she was just 12 years old and then welcomed her younger siblings Sandy, Lucy, and Manual and on a family trip to California welcomed her baby sister Josie. She worked for many years at Del Monte and served on their union, she was a homemaker who raised 10 children with Bill Costello. Years later, she met Pablo Gonzalez and married on November 23, 1974. They lived out the rest of their lives together in the home that built them for more than 47 years. She and Pablo traveled annually to Texas to visit family in Houston, Brownsville, and one of their favorite beaches was South Padre Island. Mary took great pride in raising her four sons and six daughters. They were her greatest achievements in life and they each can speak beautifully of the impact she had on them. In stories she shared with her sisters, the things that made her most proud was the strong work ethic, love and loyalty to family, and the importance of an education that can still be seen in her children today. From their earliest years of experiencing household responsibilities, manual labor during seasonal work picking strawberries in Mount Vernon, and skills earned in childcare of younger siblings. All her children are Wapato High graduates and led successful careers. Two of her sons were dedicated service men in the armed forces and shared the stories of their valiant efforts during the Vietnam Era and the military tours around the world. Sifting through all her worldly possessions, we found her most prized possessions to be 70 years of childhood collections. With school and life achievements, elementary report cards, sports ribbons, honor society award letters, newspaper clippings of children and grandchildren, military regalia, thousands of photos telling the story of a life well lived and a world traveled through the eyes of her family. She is a beautiful Matriarch that transcends across children, Grandchildren, Great Grandchildren and Great/Great Grandchildren and including the addition of husbands and wives married into this amazingly loving family gaining her well over 130 current family members. She had a witty sense of humor and a confidence that took her places. She took no guff and if she had an opinion, she did not hold back. She had a knack for telling it like it was, and told the truth even if it was not what you wanted to hear. She was genuine to a fault, a silly kid at heart, and sugarcoated nothing. She loved her flowers in her yard, and loved to show them off. She loved to feed and offer coffee immediately upon entering her home. If you had not been over to see her in a while, you were sure to get a kiss and a hug and then a scolding for neglecting her. She had words of encouragement, wisdom, comfort, and sometimes-tough love that kept us in line. She taught us the “school of hard knocks” and gave us experiences and history to pass down to our children. She tell the best jokes, some that would make you blush slap your head or wipe away tears from laughing so hard. Mary was the strongest woman you will ever meet. She was not afraid of anyone or anything. She was a fierce mama, a protector of her grandchildren, and devout Christian women.  Mary spent the better half of her life devoted to God and her mission to serve a historic member of Templo Cristiano. She was a sister, leader, and a comadre to a congregation that grew well over 40 years. Up until her final days, many of her church family stopped by weekly to socialize and update her on the new evolution of the church. She served as the president of her women’s group, leader of young girls club, bible school bus driver, and a cook for community events. She relished in her efforts made to raise funds for the church. She was an honored member of women’s ministry including Missions World Wide, traveled in groups to countless women’s conventions where she was always the trusted driver. She was very social and loved to be with her friends, she mastered the art of crocheting and could look at a blanket stitch and within minutes, she could replicate it. Many received a gift or two of her beloved doilies or hand created dishtowels at various events. Mary was very independent well into her final days, at the age of 88 she still drove, cooked, did her own laundry, and cleaned her own home. She loved the Seahawks and wore her Seahawks scarf, hat and blanket like a true fan. She had a vivid memory that could not be challenged, recognized decades of faces in photos and told a story of everyone in them, she was sharp as a tack and her love for her family and friends truly will outlast the test of time. She is preceded in death by her parents Dolores C. Sandoval and Juan M. Sandoval, her loving husband Pablo Gonzalez, Her siblings: Juanito, Isidro, Elias, Antonio, Sandy, Juan (Manuel), Lucia, and Lucy and her grandson Charles. She is survived by her sisters: Josie Terrazas (late Jose) and Juana Casas (Raul), ten children: Tom (late Anna) Costello, John (Lee) Costello, Stella (John) Vasquez, Virgie (late Joe) Guzman, Annie (Robert) Vasquez, Kathy Costello, Martha (late Steve) Gomez, Felix (Anita) Costello, Antonio (Hilda) Costello, Glenda (Steve) Vick, 29 Grandchildren, 52 Great Grandchildren, and 5 Great Great Grandchildren, her dog Pee Wee and special niece Gloria Oyola. Thank you to YVMH Hospice and the numerous family and friends of her church all who cared for and loved her all these years and up until the final days. A Public viewing held on Tuesday, 08/24/21 at Valley Hills Funeral Home – Wapato WA, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00pm (Private Family time will be held prior) Graveside service at Wapato Reservation Cemetery on Wednesday 08/25/21 at 12:00pm To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Maria Gonzalez, please visit our flower store.