Obituaries : Esther P. Chavez; 5th-Generation Californian
Esther P. Chavez, a lifelong Ventura County resident, died Tuesday in a Ventura convalescent home after a long illness. She was 78.
She was born April 29, 1917, in Ojai. The daughter of Salatiel and Matilda Lopez, she was a fifth-generation Californian and descendant of Francisco Lopez, one of the first land grant owners in Matilija Canyon.
Mrs. Chavez worked in the cafeteria of Ventura College for 10 years before retiring in 1974.
She is survived by her husband of 59 years, Manuel P. Chavez; two daughters, Sister Juanita, F.M.A., of Corralitos, Calif., and Katherine Albers of Ventura; a son, Edward Chavez of Ventura; a sister, Mary Quijada of Washington; two brothers, Eugene V. Lopez of Ventura and Manuel M. Lopez of Ojai; three grandchildren, and a great-grandson.
Visitation will be from 2 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the Joseph P. Reardon Funeral Home in Ventura, and the rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. at the funeral home. Mass will be said at 9 a.m. Friday at the San Buenaventura Mission in Ventura. Burial will follow in Ivy Lawn Memorial Park in Ventura.
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