Obituary of Olga "Mae" Trujillo-Valdez

Olga (“Mae”) Trujillo-Valdez, 76, of Murfreesboro, TN, went to be with our Lord peacefully on Apr 5, 2023, after a brief battle with Renal Cell Carcinoma. Mae was born to Carmel and Andrea Gonzales in the bay area of California. Her family was from the beautiful San Luis Valley in southern Colorado and Mae was raised in Pueblo, Colorado where she attended St. Leander Catholic school and graduated from East High school. She went on to earn her cosmology certification and opened her own hair salon but the majority of her adult life she employed as an Administrative Assistant. She is survived by her husband, Philip J. Valdez, two daughters: Darla Trujillo-Knight (Eddie Ybarra) of Mesa, AZ, Christina (“Tina”) Trujillo (Luke Braly) of Denver, CO, her only grandson Anthony (“TJ”) Knight, of Mesa, AZ and her precious dog Lizzy. She is also survived by her sister- Barbara (Ernie) Portillos, brother- Philip (“Jon”) Gonzales, along with her step-children: Jim (Gloria) Valdez, Phil (Shelley) Valdez, and Anna (Greg) Trujillo, and four step-grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. As an Administrative Assistant, Mae worked at such places as Arizona State University, the City of Chandler and Boys Town in Omaha but eventually retired after her fight with Breast Cancer in 2004. Mae was always a devout Catholic and won awards for her service and donations to various Catholic charities. She attended mass most Sundays and it was only when her health started to fail that she stopped going. But, her daughter Darla made sure to bring her communion and while in the hospital, it was important to Mae that a priest or Catholic volunteer come and pray with her and give her communion. During her final days, Mae’s daughters, sister, niece and son-in-law would say the rosary together over Mae because it was a very important prayer that Mae would say often. Mae was an enthusiastic gardener, avid reader, and dog lover. She especially loved to send photos of her garden to her daughters, especially when Lizzy was in the pictures. She also treasured all of her grand-dogs and always had treats and toys for them when she would visit. She and her daughters enjoyed exchanging books, recipes, clothes and discussing their favorite movies or series they were watching. There was a special bond with her daughters and grandson and their visits were never long enough. The memories are abundant between them, whether it was going to Sunday mass, sporting events, spending holidays together, shopping at the swap meet, watching movies, going on walks or mountain hikes, playing board games, or the almost daily chats on the phone, she tried her best to stay in their lives no matter the number of miles that separated them. Jim and Mae were married in May 2002 and had a wonderfully close relationship. They loved going on drives around Tennessee to see waterfalls and beautiful scenery and attending live music shows, especially if Phil was playing. She was very supportive of Jim and his son’s musical aspirations and even developed a fondness for country music. She would often accompany Jim to his performances at the local assisted living centers. When Mae convinced Jim to finally get a dog, they showered and spoiled Lizzy to no end. They enjoyed taking her on walks to visit the neighbors, watching movies and TV with dogs, and Lizzy also developed a love for adventure and taking drives with her human parents. Mae was most recently a member of Northridge Family Community Education women’s group and she looked forward to their meetings and outings. Mae and Jim were always very social and made a great network of friends through their neighbors and participation in car club and wine club meetings. It would be wrong to say that Mae lost her battle with cancer because she never stopped fighting. No matter how ill she felt, she was always resolute to conquer cancer again. While many people would have relinquished, Mae stayed strong through her faith and determination of her daughters and grandson to keep fighting. Through her, we know what resilience and perseverance truly look like. Though Mae’s health was failing for years, few people knew the extent to which she struggled. Her joy for life and indomitable spirit kept her pushing through the pain so that she could enjoy milestone events with her daughters and grandson. She will be so very much missed but her legacy will live on through her loved ones that knew her best. --------------------------- A Catholic rosary service will be at Murfreesboro Funeral Home (145 Innsbrooke Blvd, Murfreesboro, TN 37128) from 3 - 4pm, the visitation service is 4 - 5pm with the funeral service starting at 5pm Saturday, April 15, 2023. A reception will follow at 2222 St. Andrews Dr., Murfreesboro, TN 37128. A Catholic mass will also be scheduled in her home town of Pueblo, CO at St. Leander Catholic Church. Contact Darla Trujillo-Knight (darlaknght@yahoo.com) for additional details. Memorial donations may be made to your local animal shelter, botanical gardens, United Cerebral Palsy, Highland Junior High in Gilbert, AZ, Latinas First Foundation, St Jude, or Reading Partners.