Maria del Refugio Gonzalez

Maria del Refugio Gonzalez (Cuca), 87. Our beloved mother passed away on May 19, 2025.

She was born in Tepatitlan, Mexico, and at age 10 moved to El Paso with her parents and brothers.

Maria worked in real estate, growing the Vance Company over the decades. She was a strong, fiercely independent woman with an incredible work ethic and exquisite taste for fashion and food. She was an active volunteer, first with the Rotary Club and later giving time to help the elderly transition into assisted care. She traveled the world from Europe to Central and South America, taking every breath of adventure to savor and experience the world's greatest wonders with her family and friends. She climbed the Swiss Alps, ventured into amethyst mines in Brazil, hiked in the jungles of the Amazon, and enjoyed everywhere she traveled. She warmed the hearts of our family and friends with her love, laughter, and joy, sharing these along with her famous chile con queso.

Maria was preceded in death by her parents, Sebastian and Dora Gutierrez. She is survived by her brothers, Juan and wife Amy, and Richard and wife Diana. She is lovingly remembered by her children, her daughter Irma Rodriguez and husband Humberto, and her son Mario Gonzalez. She also enjoyed visiting her grandchildren Joel (Jessica), Valerie (Grant), Vanessa (Rafael), Katherine, and Marianna, and great-grandchildren Noemi, Javier, Lida, Calvin, Tobias, and Madeleine.

A Visitation will be held from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm on Thursday, June 12, 2025, at Sunset Funeral Home-Northeast, 4631 Hondo Pass Drive, 79904, with a Vigil and Rosary at 6:30 pm. Funeral Mass will be at 11:00 am on Friday, June 13, 2025, at Our Lady of Assumption Catholic Church, 4805 Byron Street, 79932. Interment Service will follow at Restlawn Memorial Park Cemetery, 4848 Alps Street, 79904. In lieu of flowers, Maria requested donations to the building fund at San Lorenzo Catholic Church in Clint, Texas, where she so frequently prayed for all of us.

 Services entrusted to Sunset Funeral Home-Northeast. Please visit her online memorial at www.sunsetfuneralhomes.net.