Mary Ellen Rios

Mary Ellen Rios was born on March 11, 1936 in Los Angeles. She was the seventh child, born of eight children to Juan and Josephina Mesa. In 1951 at the age of 15 Mary met Mike at a family party. Mike knew instantly that she was the one and at the end of the evening he walked her home and tried to steal a kiss. She lied and said she had a boyfriend to hide her true feelings. About a year later Mary ran into Mikes brother and asked about him. She learned Mike was in the Air Force overseas and decided to write to him. Writing letters to each other was the beginning of a beautiful friendship and the start of their love story. When Mike returned they eloped on April 25, 1954 in Courtside, Arizona. They had five children together Lorraine, Valerie, Freddie, Nadine and Michael. They moved around while Mike was in the service until they settled in Anaheim where they bought their first home. They moved to Norco in 1972. Mary volunteered for many years at the Headstart program while her youngest child was in school. She was offered a job with the Corona Norco Unified School District as a bilingual aid. She loved her job and worked in that position for over 25 years. Unfortunately, Mary was diabetic and later diagnosed with dementia which eventually progressed to Alzheimers Disease. She was an extremely strong woman who fought hard to hold on, until the end. Mary passed away at the age of 81, surrounded by her family on Wednesday, December 5, 2017. She was survived by her husband Mike Rios ending a loving 63 year marriage, her children: Lorraine Zamora, Valerie Arguelles, Nadine Rios and Michael Rios, 13 grandchildren, 27 great grandchildren and 2 great, great grandchildren. Mary was full of life and always loved to dress up in hats and jewelry. She was loved by many especially her family and will be missed greatly. Her family looks forward to the day they will see her again in heaven. Service Location Not Available Wednesday 12/13, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm St. Mel's Catholic Church Thursday 12/14, 10:00 am - 11:00 am Crestlawn Memorial Park 11500 Arlington Ave. Riverside, California 92505 (951) 689-1441 | Thursday 12/14, 12:00 pm Cemetery Crestlawn Memorial Park 11500 Arlington Ave. Riverside, California 92505 (951) 689-1441 | Thursday 1/1