Mary “Rosita” Zalazar, 92, of Galesburg, died peacefully at home surrounded by her loving family at 7:35 p.m. Friday, October 28, 2022.
Born September 5, 1930 in LaBarca, Jalisco, Mexico as Cruzita Maria Delacruz Gonzalez Salazar, the daughter of Demetrio and Petra (Salazar) Gonzalez. The family moved to Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico the capital for work. They emigrated to the United States in 1945. Mary married J. Matheas Zalazar. He preceded her in death on June 9, 1973.
While living in the Ottawa, Illinois area, Mary worked for Weclox. After moving to Galesburg, Mary spent most of her life as a caregiver to her family. Generation to generation the love Rosita gave to her grandchildren was unmatched. However, she cooked at Costa School for several years and managed different bars including La Mesa.
Mary is survived by six granddaughters, Mia Teel of Galesburg, Mary Sue Teel of Galesburg, Claudia Cruz (Michael E. Marfell) Fox of Galesburg, Dakota Rose (Nathan Gibbs) Teel of Knoxville, Cheyenne Louise Teel of Galesburg, and Lakota Dylena (Anthony Rogers) Beach of Galesburg; and two grandsons, Cody Jo (Ashley Maxwell) Teel of Galesburg and Dylan Ross (Kara Decker) Teel of Galesburg. She is also survived by eight grandchildren, Jenna, Dustin, David, Tevin, Alaska, Ontario, Capre, Montreal, Jersey, Brooklyn, Atlantis, Nikolai, Luca, and Miracle; fourteen great grandchildren; and ten great great grandchildren; as well as two brothers, Demetrio “Demetri” (the late Verna) Zalazar of LaSalle, Illinois and Juanito “Johnny, Juan, Jose” (Ginny) Salazar of Oswego, Illinois; one sister, Jesusita “Jesse or Chuy” Zalazar of Ottawa, Illinois; a multitude of nieces, nephews, and cousins; and numerous other children and grandchildren whom she took in and cared for as her own. Mary is preceded in death by her parents, husband, and her only daughter, Mary Carver on October 26, 2017; five brothers, Rafael “Chico” Gonzalez, Ramon “Ray” Gonzales, Nicholas “Niko” Gonzales, Pedro “Pete” Gonzales, Jesus Gonzales; and three sisters, Juanita “Juana” Trujillo, Guadalupe “Lupe” Fuentes, and Gloria “Angel” Gonzalez.
Mary’s greatest passion in life was to care for her family but she also loved to cook, tend to her yard and garden, along with knitting and crocheting. Rosita loved to care for and feed the birds and squirrels around her. She was a member of Corpus Christi Catholic Church. She was a longtime member of LULAC and enjoyed dancing. Rosita was one of a kind, treated anyone in her direction with love and like one of her own. To know Rosita was to feel a different presence to unconditional love. Her witty and sassy remarks will forever be missed.
Visitation will be 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, November 4, 2022 at Watson Thomas Funeral Home and Crematory, Galesburg with a prayer service following at 5 p.m. A celebration of life will be held following the prayer service at the Thomas Legacy Center until 8 p.m. Cremation will be accorded following services. Memorial contributions may be directed to the family of Mary. Online expressions of sympathy may be sent to the family at www.watsonthomas.com.
