Mary P. Sanchez, 81, died Feb. 10 of cancer. She was born Feb. 11, 1935 in La Veta, to Jose and Marina Lopez. Mary married Arsenio Sanchez, of Brighton, in September 1953.
Mary was a long-time resident of Brighton, having lived there since the late 1940s. She went to Brighton High School and worked in several prominent Brighton companies, including Kuner’s and Safeway. She is most remembered as a dedicated wife of 59 years, a loving mother and grandmother to her children and grandchildren, as well as a loving sister to her brothers and sisters. She was widely known for the 29 years of faithful service as a checker at Safeway, where she could be seen smiling and welcoming her customers on checkout line 2.
Mary loved to travel, having been to all but three of our great states in the United States of America as well as to Europe and Central America. When she wasn’t traveling or spending time with family, Mary spent countless hours gardening in her back yard on South Ninth Avenue. She was fond of wishing every person that she met “a happy life,” as she did indeed live a happy and full life herself.
Survivors include her sons, Arsenio “Archie” Sanchez Jr., of Brighton, and Chris “Kipper” Sanchez, and his wife, Patsy, of Aurora; their children Anthony and Leticia and her husband, Michael; her daughter; Marinajo Fields, and her husband, David, of Honduras, and their children, Mariah and Benjamin; her brothers; Joe and Rollie; her sisters; Marbella, Viola, Dolores and Gloria; many nieces and nephews and great grandchildren. Her husband and her sisters, Margaret Sanchez, Alice Montora and Frieda Gallegos preceded her in death.
A vigil service, where we will share memories of Mary, will be at 7 p.m., Monday, Feb. 20, ay Tabor Rice Funeral Home, 75 S. 13th Ave., Brighton, which handled the arrangements.
Funeral services will be held at the Brighton United Methodist Church, 625 s. Eighth Ave., at 10 a.m., Tuesday, Feb. 21. Interment will follow at Fairview Cemetery of Brighton.