Mary Lou (Maria Luisa) Chavez, age 89, was surrounded by her family when she passed away on June 26, 2020, due to complications of Alzheimer's Disease.

She was born on April 11, 1931, Rogerio Chavez Avila and Luisa Garcia Avila in El Paso, Texas. She had four brothers, Alerico (Larry), Artemio (Art), who have preceded her in death, as well as two infant brothers who passed away within days of each other during the 1918 flu pandemic. Mary Lou married the love of her life, Emmett, and moved from New Mexico and eventually to Lompoc, California, where they raised the three children, Larry, Gary, and Louisa. Her family was her passion as she thoroughly enjoyed being a mother and grandmother.

As her children grew up, she had aspirations to pursue a career. She started out as a noontime crossing guard with the Lompoc School District. In her spare them, she went to night school where she earned her GED the same year as her oldest son, Larry, graduated from high school. She worked her way through the ranks and became a bilingual teacher's aide from which she retired in the early 1990's. She truly enjoyed running into her former students and hearing of their successes.

Mary Loui was gifted in the creative arts as a self-taught painter, singer, and lyricist. Emmett was always on the lookout for the craziest rocks for her to paint and create into something, but he was never able to stump her. Mary Lou had so many wonderful qualities, but two of them contributed to her being the best wife, mom, and grandma.

She was a perennial optimist which helped her survive lots of adversity and which she generously surrounded her family with like a protective blanket. Secondly, she was a child at heart with a fantastic sense of humor. She definitely lived by the quote: "We do not quit playing because we grow old; we grow old because we quit playing."

In addition to her parents and brothers, she was preceded in death by her husband Emmett, son Gary, and most recently Larry's wife, Shannon Chavez. She lives behind Larry, his children Jamaica (and partner Casey and their daughter Paloma, Camille and Coryell; Gary's children Rosa (daughter Lydia) and Marcos (wife Vanessa); daughter and son-in-law Louisa and Francisco Sandoval (daughter Marisa), step-granddaughter Summer Sandoval, and her children Jordin, Coral and Briley. The family wishes to thank Serenity House for helping make her last days comfortable and the outstanding staff at Alto Lucero in Santa Barbara, where she was a resident for the past four years. There will be a private graveside service.