- Date Of Birth: February 26, 1942
- Date Of Death: April 24, 2016
- State: New Mexico
Yolanda Romero Acosta 74, from Silver City resident entered eternal rest Sunday, April 24, 2016 at the Center for Compassionate Care With Hospice in El Paso, TX.
Yolanda known as “Yolie” was born February 26, 1942 in Gary, New Mexico to Domingo Casarez and Carmen (Romero) Acosta. She was a hard worker all her life, starting from a teenager at Cobre High School, who had dropped out of high school to go to work in caring for, bringing up and supporting a sister and three younger brothers, especially the family’s youngest child, Benjamin. Her first job was at Fisher Toy Factory, commuting to and from Deming, NM for several years. In 1961, she decided to go west, and moved to Los Angeles, CA where she became a factory worker.
She blossomed and gained numerous personal interests. She had been a Hollywood and music fanatic in her teenage years and California provided her with many new opportunities. She became very interested in History, in both past and contemporary, especially in the events happening in the state or local government. She had witnessed first-hand the events that had occurred in Grant County during the Salt of the Earth Era and had participated in activities that supported the strike by Local 890, including walking the picket lines in Hanover. She started her own interests in the organized labor movement and collected histories, books and memorabilia starting with extensive scrapbook albums, which later became a big part of her many, many interests in collecting pictures, souvenirs, tokens and developing an ever-expanding collection for personal albums. Her trademark became walking in with a handful of albums to show and share with her relatives.
Whatever was going on around the world, she created an album to commemorate specific events. It was in California where her Mustang became another big trademark and another album. While in California she witnessed the numerous riots that occurred including the race riots and anti-war movements, and high profile events, witnessed the arrest of the infamous “Night Stalker” and sat in the courtroom during the O.J. Simpson trial.
She had always had a big interest in law enforcement and worked as a security guard in Los Angeles County and the USC Medical Center for several years and was thrilled to work security at the 1977 Oscars. She returned to Grant County and was happy to return to the Cobre Schools where she was security at Cobre High and Snell Middle School. Also upon her return to Grant County she developed another big interest, her pets; and had a good sized collection of those too.
She cared deeply for her last three pets; Mamasita, Papasito and Maxi. She loved her family and friends, especially her nephews, and would spoil them with her generosity. She valued her extended family and spent a lot of time in Lordsburg with her Aunt and Uncle Estella and Chano Guerrero, Pamela Bingham, and all the Jimenez family, her cousin, Rosie Villalobos Montes; the Villalobos family and Huvencia and Lali Ontiveros from Vinton, TX.Her close friend Liz Valenzuela.
She especially cherished her life-long friendship with Chavela Rodriguez and family, and the neighborhood neighbors in Bayard; the Jauriquis, Facios, Oroscos, Lopez, Ortiz, Godoys and the Castillo families. All of those neighbors had helped and given their support in many, many ways to her family and their kindness was never forgotten. To those in her family, she was known to have a sense of humor that varied from very good, to sometimes unusual, to one of a kind, but she will always be remembered as one who had to sacrifice her youth, her education, her own plans for a future in order to help her family have a better quality of life. She will be missed always be loved, remembered and never forgotten.
She is survived by a sister Enedina Stockhaus and her husband David and nephews Estevan, from San Mateo, Florida, Michael and Liana Riyanovich from Gainesville, brothers Roberto from Foley, Alabama and Rafael and wife, Eva from Silver City, nephews Raphael and Adam from Albuquerque, grand nieces, Concepcion (Meni) Acosta from Tampa, Florida and Rebecca Acosta from Hurley; two grand nephews Benjamin Acosta from Tucson, AZ and Raphael Acosta from Albuquerque.
