For more than 80 years, Lucila Gomez Bejarano welcomed people into her home in Tumacacori β from casual visitors who left with their bellies full of her homemade tamales to foster children who stayed until they were grown.
The Santa Cruz County native, who recently had a bridge in Rio Rico named in her honor, died on Aug. 14, just nine days after her 105th birthday.
She was born Lucila Gomez on Aug. 5, 1919, in the soon-to-be ghost town of Calabasas, a late 19th century railroad stop along the Santa Cruz River in present-day Rio Rico.
At 17, she married a young cowboy named Raul Arvizu Bejarano, and they settled in Tumacacori, where they raised four children.
Lucila Gomez Bejarano in 1937, the year she was married at age 17.
After Raul died in 1960 at the age of 43, Bejarano continued to live in the house they shared just up the road from Tumacacori National Historical Park. Even into her 100s, she could still be seen sweeping up leaves in her yard.
Bejarano ended up sheltering more than 20 foster children at that address over the years. One of those kids, Tony Velasquez, led the effort to get the bridge named for her.
His campaign succeeded in June, when the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors voted to dedicate Rio Ricoβs Pendleton Drive bridge over Sonoita Creek, just east of the Santa Cruz River, as the Lucila G. Bejarano Crossing.
Velasquez said he was just looking for a lasting way to celebrate the woman who raised him from the age of 9, along with his six siblings. βSeven little kids β seven little Indians β showed up at her house, and none of us were separated,β he told the supervisors on June 20. βShe made a tremendous home for us. Dedication, kindness, love β she showed us everything.β
On Monday, Velasquez posted a picture of Bejarano and a tribute to her on the βViva Nogales!β history page he runs on Facebook. βThis was my beautiful foster mother (who) back in 1967 took in all seven of us foster kids and made us part of her loving family,β he wrote. βI will miss her greatly.β
Bejarano served as βa model of strength and perseverance for those who knew her,β according to her obituary notice, which described her as a patient, kind, independent woman who cherished her family.
She is survived by her children, Lilia Masterson, Ernesto Bejarano, Norma Megariz and Raul Bejarano; eight grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren and 14 great-great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Raul; her five brothers, Gilbert, Ignacio, Ramon, Eduardo and Febronio Gomez; and her sister, Petra Wisdom.
A memorial for Bejarano was held at Sacred Heart of Jesus Roman Catholic Church in Nogales on Tuesday afternoon. After the service, she was buried next to her husband at the Nogales Cemetery, where he has waited for her for 64 years.
The Lucila C. Bejarano Crossing in located in Rio Rico, near the ghost town where she was born.
