Oralia Dominguez
Our truly beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother, Oralia “LaLa” (Borrego) Dominguez, at an amazing 102 years old, peacefully went to our Lord on April 10, 2018. She was surrounded by family and loved ones. She was a resident of Loveland, Colorado for 3 years and was formerly a resident of Colorado Springs, CO, Guadalupita, New Mexico, and Chacon, NM. She was a stay at home mom and a real pioneer woman. She raised her three children Georgia, Maria “Tita”, and Charlie.
When Oralia was born on December 26, 1915, in Chacon, New Mexico. New Mexico had only joined the United States three years prior in 1912. Her parents Manuel Borrego and Manuelita (Mascarenas) Borrego were early settlers in Chacon. Her father Manuel was one of the first Post Masters for the Chacon Post Office and was one of the founders of University of New Mexico (Las Vegas).
A few years after her father’s passing, Oralia’s mother, Manuelita packed up their wagon and took LaLa, her sister Emma and brothers Ventura & Ernesto to the mines where they washed clothes for the local miners. This is where she met her future husband Estevan Dominguez of Truchas, NM and her sister Emma met her husband Manuel Valencia. Eventually, LaLa and her sister Emma moved back to Chacon with their new husbands and raised their families. The sisters lived in Chacon for over forty years as neighbors and best friends. Emma’s kids include Manuel, Sedalia, Wilfred, Christella and MaryAnn Valencia.
In those days life was hard. The homes did not have indoor plumbing or electricity and they were miles away from the nearest town. So being a homemaker then did not include your typical duties of today. LaLa was a real pioneer woman, her duties included collecting water from the river for cooking and bathing, washing clothes in the river, chopping wood, gardening, cooking on a wooden stove, canning, preparing the meat that the men killed and preparing for the harsh winters like re-stuffing the mattresses and crocheting and quilting blankets. For fun, the sisters and their families would pack up their wagons and head to the mountains for a picnic, they loved to build bonfires and camp overnight. When celebrating birthdays or special achievements such as a First Communion, the families enjoyed listening to music on their wind-up record player playing and dancing to songs like “Indita Mia” on their patio.
After the passing of her first husband, Oralia remarried in her mid-60s to Marcelino Herrera of Guadalupita. LaLa and Marcelino enjoyed traveling and were active senior citizens. They traveled with their local senior’s group. Together they entered and won many dance contests, they sang for fun, for family and for their local church, the Lady of Guadalupe of Mora. LaLa also won a Free Throw contest with her women’s senior league at a tournament in Roswell.
In her mid-70’s Oralia moved to Villa Santa Maria Assisted Living in Colorado Springs where she spent time with her children Charlie Dominguez and Georgia (Dominguez) Sanchez and their families. Lala kept her competitive spirit and enjoyed participating in activities like bingo and cards at the center.
When she was 98, Lala moved to the Park Regency in Loveland, Colorado to live with her daughter, Maria “Tita” and her family. Here she spent the rest of her time enjoying holidays, graduations, watching the Broncos and celebrating her 100th birthday where she received a card from the former president, Barrack Obama.
She is survived by her children: Georgia Sanchez, Maria “Tita” Sandoval and Charlie Dominguez; her grandchildren: Johana Gentile, Wilfred Sanchez, Laurie Sanchez-Hernandez, Evon Alicea, Victor Sandoval, Steve Sandoval, Gerald Sandoval, Lawrence Sandoval, Michelle Sandoval, Charlie Dominguez Jr., Anthony Dominguez, Brenda (Dominguez) Cortez and Alan Dominguez; her great-grandchildren: Amanda Gentile, Rebekka Benham, Felina Gentile, Eduardo Trujillo, Trina Wardell, Christopher Sanchez, Alvino Sanchez, Talia Hernandez, Cyprian Hernandez, Felix Alicea Jr., Elisa Alicea, Kendall Sandoval, Xvante Fitzhugh, Manuel Fitzhugh, Alex Fitzhugh, Lawrence Sandoval, Monique Dominguez, Cody Files, Angelina Sanchez and Gabriel Sanchez; and her great-great-grandchildren: Ashton Gentile, Angelina Gentile, Kameron Gentile, Karolina Benham, Adelina Wardell, Rowyn Wardell, Noah Wardell, Aaron Alicea, Mackenzie Alicea, Rachel Mjelbe, Nicole Mjelbe, Brayden Limke and Athena Rosales. She was preceded in death by her sister Emma (Borrego) Valencia and two brothers Ventura Borrego and Ernesto Lucero, her first husband Estevan, second husband Marcelino, grand-daughter Diana Sanchez, great-grandson Guillermo Lopez and great-granddaughter Corrina Dominguez.
A memorial service will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 21, 2018, at Park Regency at 1875 Fall River Drive in Loveland, CO. A visitation will be held from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. on Monday, April 23, 2018, at Shrine of Remembrance in Colorado Springs (1730 East Fountain Boulevard). Graveside service and interment will be held from 3:00 to 3:30 p.m. at the Evergreen Cemetery at 1005 Hancock Expy. in Colorado Springs, CO 80903.