Obituary of Evangelina Galindo Ortiz

Evangelina Galindo Ortiz or “Ita” as her grandkids renamed her, lived a long, joyful, adventurous, and spiritual life, passed away peacefully on January 18, 2023, at the age of 89. Eva was born in La Experiencia, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, to Maria Amelia Vasquez and Enrique Sanchez on December 16, 1933. She was the eldest of three sisters. She attended school until the age of 13 when she began working at a local textile factory to help support her family. In 1957, she met and married the love of her life Benjamin Galindo Ortiz. Soon after they came to the U.S., and settled in Hollister, CA where they raised their family. Doña Eva and Don Benjamin instilled in their family traditional values emphasizing hard work, education, and religious worship. Eva taught her family the importance of love, laughter, and appreciation for life. She was truly the life of the family gathering cheering everyone with singing, stories, and laughter. She worked at San Benito Foods for over 40 years, where she was well known for her positive outlook on life and amazingly strong and beautiful singing voice. She would sing “Las Mañanitas” to her coworkers on their birthday, which earned her the title of "La Cantadora de San Benito Foods". She was an active member of Sacred Heart Church and “La Sociedad Guadalupana”. She was also very generous and was always willing to help a friend. She was passionate about traveling and when her kids were still young, she would take them to Guadalajara by bus and train to visit their relatives - those were different times. She also loved the beaches in and surrounding Puerto Vallarta and she traveled throughout the U.S. to other states such as Massachusetts, Washington D.C., Florida, as well as Puerto Rico, and Canada. One of her most memorable voyages was with her eldest son Enrique, who took her across Canada via train, and then on a cruise ship from Vancouver to Alaska. In 1994 she obtained her US Citizenship and proudly displayed both the US and Mexican flags in her home in Mexico. One tradition of hers was to make sure she called each family member on their birthday to sing “Las Mañanitas," she would end her call with “Bendiciones, Bendiciones.” She often made homemade flour tortillas that were eagerly consumed by family and friends alike. She loved dressing up for Halloween and she especially loved making tamales with the family every Christmas. She leaves behind her five children, Elvira (Francisco), Enrique, Teresa (Gilbert), Benjamin (Karen), and Roberto (Leticia). Her grandchildren, Fabian (Amber), Carlos (Natasha), Gilbert II (Maxine), Leah (Armando), Stephanie, Kyle, Anissa, Tito, and Eli. Her great-grandchildren, Monique (Israel), Angel, Xzavier, Moriah, Jeremiah, Panchito, Diego, Cruze, Santana, Vera, Navid, Armando, Ava, Abram, Alina, Julian and Jenna. Her great, great-grandchildren Amaya, Damien, and baby Navarro. She is preceded in death by her spouse Benjamin G. Ortiz, sister Teresa Lopez Cabrera, brother-in-law Enrique Ortiz Galindo and wife Marcelina Galindo, son-in-law Francisco Curiel, and granddaughter Teresa Curiel. A mass to honor the life of Evangelina will be held on Monday, March 13, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Benedict's Church followed by the placement of the ashes.