Maria Teresa Islas-Gonzalez

Maria Teresa Islas Gonzalez, age 91, passed away peacefully on June 22, 2026, surrounded by the love of her family. Born on February 18, 1935 in Zamora, Michoacán MX, Ma. Teresa lived a life full of faith, hard work, and family. Ma Teresa, her mother Esperanza, her older sister Felipa, and their niece Maria Elena arrived in Tijuana, BC MX around 1957 or 1957. Ma Teresa and Felipa became two of the thousands of workers to cross the border daily into San Diego to work. They crossed on foot and availed themselves of the public transportation of the era. My mother worked a number of years as a cook and server at the Aztec No.1 located at 2811 San Diego Avenue in Old Town. In Dec 1959, after Esperanza adopted Ma Elena as her daughter, they were all able to cross the border to live as legal permanent residents. They settle down in City Heights on Marlborough ST, two blocks south of the church that would be central to her faith and spiritual growth, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church. When the opportunity to purchase a home presented itself in the 1960, the family moved into the home at 37th ST and University AVE, still in City Heights, roughly one mile west of her beloved church. As the years passed, Esperanza passed away, Ma Elena began a family of her own, and Ma Teresa met her future spouse Rogelio. With a new family in the offing, Felipa relocated to a small apartment in Little Italy. Ma Teresa and Rogelio soon began a family of their own, eventually paying off in the 37th ST house in the 1980s in cash. This is the home where my mother and father raised three sons; Javier Rogelio Gonzalez, Arturo Jose Gonzalez, and Sergio Islas Gonzalez.

Ma Teresa was a pillar of strength for her family. Surrounded by her family, Felipa and her husband William “Bill” Closson, Ma Elena and her husband Douglas Prager and their children Darlene and Sandra Prager. As time passed, the family grew to include Javier’s wife Gloria and their children Gloriana, Jesica, David, and Oscar, Arturo’s wife Reza and their sons Xavier and Gabriel, and Sergio’s wife Patricia and their daughter Sofia, and Sandra's spouse Geoff Carnie, their daughter Haley, and Haley's spouse Blake and their son Jet. Most other family members from Mexico made their way to San Diego seen infrequently but loved nonetheless. Her legacy of love and resilience will forever live on in the hearts of those who knew her.

She was preceded in death by mother, her beloved husband, Rogelio R. Gonzalez (b. 03/11/1925 - d. 03/20/2005), her brother-in-law Bill Closson (b. 10/19/1931 - d. 09/16/2016) and her second oldest child, Arturo Jose Gonzalez (b. 11/21/1974 - d. 03/21/2020).