Obituary of Carmen Reyes Rodarte

Carmen Reyes Rodarte, 84, of Simi Valley, California, passed away on Monday, April 29th, 2019 in Simi Valley.

Rosary will be Thursday, May 16th, 2019 at Rose Family Funeral Home (4444 Cochran St., Simi Valley, CA 93063) at 7 PM.

Funeral service will be held at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church (2380 Stow St., Simi Valley, CA 93063) on Friday, May 17th at 10:00 AM with Fr. Adrian San Juan officiating.  Burial will follow at Assumption Cemetery (1380 Fitzgerald Road, Simi Valley, CA 93065).  

Carmen was born in Tepatitlan, Jalisco, México to Antonio and Felicitas Padilla on July 21st, 1934.  Carmen would tell her children of the hardships of growing up in Mexico.  From early on she had to work to help her family.  Some of the jobs she did was picking cotton, as a clerk at a general store and packing coffee.  In her early twenties, she met Domingo Reyes and within a year, in 1958, they were married.  Domingo was working in the aeronautics industry in San Diego, so they lived there the first 7 years of their marriage.  From there, because of Domingo’s work, they moved to the small town of Picayune, Mississippi and stayed there about 8 years.  They returned to Southern California in 1973 and found a home in Simi Valley which they stayed for the remaining years.

Carmen was a loving, caring, generous and kind woman.  Her belief in God was so very important to her and she lovingly passed that faith on to her children.  She really emphasized the importance of caring for the less fortunate.  She loved to garden, it was therapy and relaxing for her.  Carmen took pride in and enjoyed cooking and baking.  Her enchiladas, mole and her delicious tamales will be missed.  Carmen had a soft heart for animals and nature’s beauty.  She always dreamed to someday win the lottery so that she could buy a piece of land large enough to have some chickens and maybe a cow.  

Carmen is survived by her three children:  Domingo, Jr., Gus and his wife Juditha and their children Christie, Vincent and Josh, and Dora and her husband Bill. She is preceded in death by her husband, Domingo.