La Grande, Oregon
Amelia Garcia Diaz, 80, of Ontario and formerly of La Grande, died Saturday, Aug. 19. Viewing will be from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday and a recitation of the Rosary will begin at 6 p.m. at Loveland Funeral Chapel. A Resurrection Mass will begin at 10 a.m. Friday at Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church. Burial will follow at Hillcrest East Cemetery.
Mrs. Diaz was born Sept. 29, 1925, to Rolando and Maria Gonzalez Garcia in Carrizo Springs, Texas. She married Antonio Sandoval who died earlier. Following his death she married Valdemar Diaz on Feb. 11, 1944. They moved to Nyssa as migrant workers.
Mrs. Diaz was the first president of the first Hispanic PTA in Nyssa and was active in AARP and the Union County Senior Center. She was an avid seamstress, filling many homes with Holly Hobbie quilts. She enjoyed playing nickel slots hoping to hit the jackpot. She enjoyed traveling and sharing stories. She was sad to leave La Grande and her friends but enjoyed living with her family in Ontario for the last few months of her life.
Survivors include children and their spouses, Alberto Sandoval of Carrizo Springs, Amelia and Larry Barr of Terrebone, Ida and Paul Barry of Merritt Island, Fla., Eloy and Bobbi Diaz of Ontario, Diana Diaz of Boise, Irma Rogers of La Grande and Lisa and Arturo Mendez of Ontario; siblings, Alejandra Valdez, Lupe Paulino, Lenore Lazano and Rubenciao Garcia. Her husband; three sons; a daughter-in-law, Bebe Sandoval; two brothers, Miguel and Nicholas; and a sister, Barbarita, all died earlier.
The Observer Online, Obituaries for the week ending Aug. 26, 2006, Published: August 28, 2006