Cecilia Magdalena Gonzales

Cecilia “Ceci” Olivas Gonzales, 86, peacefully passed on October 3, 2025, after watching one more Cowboys game that ended in a tie--because of course it did. Even in her final days, she proved that grace and humor can coexist, though the Cowboys’ defense cannot.

Born in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on October 26, 1938, Ceci grew up surrounded by love, humor, and the kind of quiet strength that would one day define her. Raised by Tomas and Eustolia Olivas, she attended St. Patrick Cathedral School and El Paso High School, later earning her associate’s degree from El Paso Community College, and ultimately achieving her dream of substituting and teaching ESL classes.

In high school, she worked at The S. H. Kress Store, and upon graduation, she worked at the Gunning Casteel Drug Store. One day, while shopping with her mother, she caught the eye of an eligible pharmacist named Louis Gonzales. Fate intervened when she found herself working at the same company and locking eyes with him again during a company breakfast.

Despite being married for 66 years, there was no formal proposal. They decided on forever in the middle of an ordinary conversation while watching a movie at a drive-in on a freezing December night. Beat that, Hallmark. They were married on February 7, 1959, and remained inseparable.

Together, Ceci and Louis made their forever home on Springwood, where she made clothes, curtains, and miracles out of fabric. She had four children -- Martha Monticone (David), Victor/Buck Gonzales (Kristen), Sergio Gonzales (Julie), and Teri Quintana (Eddie) -- and nine grandchildren: Elissa (Roland), Maria (Jeremy), Kyle, Karina, Jacob, Benjamin, Allie, Madelyn, and Andrew, plus her beloved great-granddaughter Lillian.

She and Louis shared a life rich with laughter, where humor was found in everything. On one family trip to Six Flags, Louis braved the Roaring Rapids in his famously thin summer pants. The ride left him soaked, and his printed boxers were on full display. Ceci, ever the devoted wife, tried to dab them dry with tissues while he hissed, “Stop it, you’re making it worse and drawing attention!” She didn’t stop trying while he continued to shoo her. It was pure Ceci: loyal, loving, and barely holding it together from laughing too hard.

She loved Maybelline and Clinique -- keeping the brands in business single-handedly. She had more eyeliner in her closet than Walgreens had stocked. She also had a serious Mervyn’s addiction, often buying new clothes, hiding them, and unveiling them months later with the confidence of a woman who’d “had this forever.” And of course, she had a lifelong love affair with shrimp and lobster. Red Lobster’s all-you-can-eat shrimp deal hated to see her coming.

Ceci had a strength that could have powered the sun, though she’d have just called it doing what needed to be done. After a stroke left her partially paralyzed, she carried on with grace and never complained. She smiled with her whole face, raised her eyebrows when people got dramatic, and brushed off nonsense with one graceful sweep of her good hand.

Ceci was also a loyal TV viewer. She loved daytime soaps, the O.J. Simpson car chase, When Calls the Heart, and Dancing with the Stars. She was also a lover of all holidays and decorations, but especially Christmas. One year, she famously toppled into the Christmas tree while adjusting ornaments--a moment the family considers both tragic and iconic. She always insisted that Baby Jesus not appear in the nativity until Christmas morning and made her Christmas cookies an eternal holiday tradition.

Ceci was known for playing the piano and games like ping pong with her husband, Chinese checkers with her grandkids (where she would beat them mercilessly, and called it “quality time”), puzzle games on her iPad, and the blame game, where she once crop-dusted her granddaughter Maria at Cielo Vista Mall and then blamed the poor lady at the cosmetics counter.

Her humor and her heart shared the same pulse. When asked what she wanted to be remembered for, she said, “For being a better person,” and that she was. She loved with all her heart, and we all loved her fiercely in return.

Ceci believed in prayers but also in perfect timing. In her final days, when she saw her mother and grandmother calling from beyond, she told them flatly, “Go away!” She wasn’t ready. She still had people to love and loved life too much.

She leaves behind her husband, Louis, who adored her in ways most people only dream of being loved. For 66 years, she was the only one for him. No one else could fill her shoes, and no one ever will. If he could, he would have gladly signed up for 66 more years with her.

In lieu of flowers, please watch Hallmark and visit your local Red Lobster.