Lydia Smith

Our beloved mother, Lydia Lopez Smith, 80, was called to heaven on June 25, 2020 in El Paso, TX. She is survived by her son, Stephen Alan Smith (and wife Janette) of Parker, Colorado and daughter, Catherine Lynn Ladd (and husband Clint) of Cedar Park, Texas. She was the adored grandmother to 3 wonderful grandchildren. She is also survived by her loving life partner, Genaro Duron, and her siblings, Alicia Alaniz, Vicky Morales, Moises Lopez, and Connie Armijo, as well as extended family. Lydia grew up in Edinburg, TX. The oldest of 13 children, she was the main caretaker for her numerous younger siblings. Despite facing this hardship for her entire childhood, she was determined to graduate from high school, and she did. She was always very proud of her high school diploma because of how much she overcame to earn it. After graduating from Edinburg High School, she moved to El Paso, where she took classes at El Paso Community College and worked as a preschool teacher at Children’s World Learning Center. She eventually became the Assistant Director of the Center, a position she held until she retired. She always loved children and treasured her time both as a teacher and an administrator. She kept all of her class pictures and it always made her smile to look back on them, at all of those tiny, adoring, happy faces whose lives she touched. In her 80 years on this earth, Lydia meant so much to so many people and touched so many lives as a mother, grandmother, wife, sister, aunt, friend, teacher, member of her church, and as a member of her community. She was a thoughtful, virtuous and generous person, always thinking of others and always helping without anyone ever having to ask. She donated to charities frequently and considerably. She showed her love through cooking, sending cards and gifts for no occasion at all, just thinking of you, and always calling and checking on people she cared about. Every time her family visited, she always had a new pair of pajamas for each one of them laid on the guest bed, and a new pair of fuzzy socks. She loved giving little gifts, just because. She had a great sense of humor; she loved to laugh and be silly! She also had her own way of saying things. One of her favorite sayings instead of “pain in the butt” was “pain in the buttinkas!” She loved her little grand Yorkie, Coco, so much, but instead of calling her by name, she would always call her “the little Diva.” She called her other grand doggy “Maxy” and always asked how he was doing. She also was so proud of her son and daughter. She always used to say, “I must have done something right!” because she was so proud of who we are and the families we have created. When she would talk about us, she would say, “My Cathy” and “My Steve.” We will try to continue to make her proud always. She was an avid gardener, taking such loving care of all her plants. Even on days when she was so weak that she could barely move, she would still try to make it outside to water her beloved garden. Some of our favorite memories are sitting on her porch swing in the backyard, enjoying the fragrance of the jasmine she had lovingly planted, watching the little hummingbirds come drink the sugar water she loved making for them, listening to her many wind chimes (the El Paso winds can really make some music on those!), and just talking, laughing and reminiscing. She had recently planted some new crepe myrtles and kept saying how she hoped she lived long enough to see them bloom. Today they are bright pink, full and gorgeous, and she indeed was able to enjoy their blooms in her last few weeks. For this, she was so thankful. She was the best mother we could have ever asked for. Her selfless, unconditional love meant that we could always count on her at any time. She taught us so many things - how to cook, how to garden, how to care for a home, how to be smart with your money (she loved her coupons!), and most importantly, how to care for people. She made so many wonderful memories with her grandchildren, always reading to them in person and over the phone, and always buying them books to support their love of reading. She loved cooking and baking with her granddaughter and teaching us about all her kitchen gadgets. She was the best cook I have ever known, the kind of person who never needed a recipe to make a great meal. She could whip up the most amazing meals from the sparsest of ingredients. She taught her granddaughter how to make tortillas and bunuelos. She loved going to the Mexican bakery and getting us our favorite cinnamon sugar cookies every time we visited, because she knew how much we enjoyed them. And our tamales and pumpkin empanadas! She always went out of her way to make us happy. She loved Hallmark movies so much, and we loved watching them with her. We joked that they all had the same plot and even the same actors in all of them, but we all loved just being together and watching them. There was a comfort in their predictability and wholesomeness. We always knew they were going to have a happy ending. She always had such a positive attitude and taught us to always count our blessings. She took great care of herself, eating right, never smoking or drinking, and always finding new healthy meals to make. She always said, “If you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything.” She wanted to live a long and healthy life, and she did for 80 wonderful years. She also always wanted to look her best when she went anywhere, even just to Walmart, always doing her hair and makeup every day. She always put her best foot forward. Her relationship with her beloved sister, Alicia, was a significant part of her life. They lived just one street apart from each other, so they were able to spend time together almost every day. Mom loved to go shopping with Aunt Alice, go to lunch, spend holidays and cookouts together. They were both avid gardeners and loved to work in their gardens together and share plants. She was a great friend to so many, sharing many laughs and fun times but also supporting her friends through hardships. She loved music, especially Elvis, The Beatles, and Linda Ronstadt. When we brought her home from the hospital, I played her favorite music for her for hours. I hope that she heard it and that it made her happy. Her neverending faith was a big part of who she was. She prayed daily, for her family, friends, for the world. She knew Jesus and He was a big part of her life. Her Heavenly Father helped her through the countless hours of chemotherapy, radiation, poking and prodding. She endured so much pain but she never even ONCE complained. She was so strong and fought so valiantly. I hope to one day be as strong as she was. We are so thankful that she was able to pass peacefully in her own home, as she wished - in her beloved bedroom, next to the window that overlooked the garden she loved so much, surrounded by her family and pictures of all the wonderful memories of a life well lived. We know that mom is now with her Heavenly Father, completely whole and happy, no longer suffering or in pain. We are so grateful that the Lord blessed us with her for 80 glorious years, and although our hearts are broken and we are grieving this tremendous loss, we know that we will see her again. Until then, she is flying with the angels now, like the hummingbirds she loved so much. Matthew 25:21 “His Lord said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant. You were faithful over a few things and I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of the Lord.” A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, July 7 at 9:30 am at Sunset Funeral Home (4631 Hondo Pass Dr), followed by mass at 12:30 pm at Christ the Savior Catholic Church (5301 Wadsworth Ave). Interment will follow at Fort Bliss National Cemetery. Rosary for Mrs. Smith will be live streamed via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/sunsetfuneralhome