Carmen Camacho

Carmen was a wife, a Mom, a Nana, and to many family and friends she was Tia Carmen. She was born on June 20 1938, the youngest of eight siblings in a diverse neighborhood of Berkeley, CA. Immediately after graduating high school she used the knowledge from a business class to find various administration jobs so that she could be self-dependent. Being the youngest, she took it upon herself to be her mother’s caretaker thru her older years. She cherished her relationship with her mother and was proud of her first big purchase, a huge dining cabinet for her mom’s house.  That dining cabinet now displays precious family photos at our home.  Carmen enjoyed her young life, often going to the local dances with her cousins.  It was at one of these dances in the mid 1960’s where she met and eventually married her husband Luis Camacho.  This past November, they celebrated their 55th Anniversary.  Carmen’s granddaughter described her Nana in a college essay as “a good and generous woman who would give her life for her family.” As she married and had children she continued to work hard so that she could give her kids opportunities.  She worked at the Oakland canneries and various clerical jobs to place her kids in parochial school.  She encouraged her husband to pursue his own construction business. And as he started Camacho Masonry Construction, she quit her job to help the family business. They bought a dilapidated home, remodeled it inside and out, and have lived in the home the past 45 years.  As we sat and shared stories about our Mom, Nana, Tia Carmen, we were amazed by the incredible life she lived and how she touched us, influenced us, encouraged us, and loved us.  She cared for so many family and friends through tough and discouraging times.  She cared for her aging mom, had a bed ready for those who needed a place to stay for a night or for a few years.  She was always there ready to listen to a niece or a nephew in despair or to celebrate in their joy.  She was bedside comforting family and friends as they passed on to the next life and present in the delivery room to welcome baby girls and boys into this world.  Carmen lived a good life down to her last day.  She passed on February 6, 2021 after enjoying a day out with her sons.  She shared a half bottle of wine while having an outdoor lunch.  Cruised thru the beautiful Presidio and hills of San Francisco, and back home while playing her old ranchera favorites she grew up listening.  We are all better because of Mom, Nana, Tia Carmen. Her legacy will live in all of us, and we will pass it on. 

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