Maria Encarnacion Lavin de de Leon

Maria Encarnación Lavín de de León

(April 5^th 1935- May 21^st 2024)

It is with great sorrow and love that we announce that our matriarch Maria Encarnación Lavín de de León died on Tuesday May 21, 2024, at the age of 89 in her home surrounded by her family. She was born on April 5, 1935, in San Diego, California, spent her youth living in Tecate, Baja California, with religious studies in San Luis Rey, California, and later lived in San Luis, R. C., Sonora before relocating to Arizona with her family.

The pillar of the de León Lavín family, she was a beloved wife, a cherished mother, admired grandmother, and amazing great-grandmother. She was married to her husband Guillermo de León Sanchez for 66 years, and together they opened and operated 9 shoe stores, volunteered for marriage ministry with the Catholic Church, traveled to see the beauty of the world, and worked endlessly to create a good life for themselves and their eight children.  

After raising her children, she graduated Magna Cum Laude from Arizona State University in 1997 with a BA in Bilingual Education and taught at elementary and kindergarten schools in the Phoenix area.  She was also a creative seamstress, traditional Spanish and Mexican Cultural costume maker, and an accomplished classical pianist.  

Encarnación was preceded in death by her mother, Leocadia Miranda de Lavín, her father, Jose Lavín Perez, her brother, Aquilino Veloso Miranda, and her granddaughter, Cadia Rose Thompson.   

She is survived by her eight children: Encarnita de León (Jim Olson), Guillermo de León III (Maria Ester Uribe), Ricardo de León (Teresa Felix), Liliana E. de León-Torsiello (Peter Torsiello), Angelica S. de León-Haynes (David Haynes), Rodrigo E. de León (Audra Garcia), Clelia V. de León-Lavín (David Folch), and Dulce E. de León (Brian Thompson). 

Additionally, she will be missed by her grand-children: Robert Douglas Olson (Simona Donaldson), Elizabeth Marie Price (Jason Price), Steven Guillermo Olson (Amanda Heon), Alan José Olson, Isabella de León, Francisco Arronte, Renata Arronte, Domenica Arronte (Jacob Araj), Ricardo Alberto de León (Brydie Standfield), Juan Pablo de León (Francesca Navarro), Ana Teresa de León, Vincenzo Antonio Torsiello de León, Jessica Kendra Haynes (Dillan Knudson), David Jaque Haynes, Jacob Valencia, Rodrigo Ernesto de León Jr., Ayden Kain de León, Lola Sophia Thompson, Luna Solei Thompson; as well as 14 Great-Grand-children.   

We will miss her laughter, her singing, her piano playing, her prayers, her love of puzzles, her hugs, her art, her excitement, her victory in every board game she played and her beautiful rose gardens. She will be remembered profoundly for her love of life, welcoming kindness to others, and her unshakable faith in God.

A Memorial Mass will be held on Saturday, June 29, 2024 at 12:00 pm (Noon) at the Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 1800 E. Libra Drive, Tempe, AZ 85283.