La Fonda Marie Pelayo, born Sept. 22, 1959, unexpectedly left this earthly plane at 60 years young, to join her Lord and Savior on June 11, 2019.
Fonda was predeceased by her beloved immediate family: Father; Lewis Cecil Pelayo, Mother; Lois Louise West Pelayo and Brother; Thomas Lewis Pelayo.
She is survived by her children; Danielle Richey Smith (David), Levi Thomas Richey and Sheena Baker Hart (David). Her Grandchildren; Hunter, Cydnee, Rylin, Kaylee and Mazelee, and one great-grandson Whitten, many cousins and dear, dear friends.
She also loved her fur babies, Duke, Webster and Wings.
Fonda was an incredible customer service representative at United Cooperative Services for 35 years.
She was an amazing cook and shared her recipes, both handed down and new to anyone she thought might like them. She celebrated every holiday she could.
She was an avid do-it-yourselfer and the decorations in her house reflected her talent as well as various interests.
Every weekend with a Fonda was an adventure, whether cleaning the house while singing and dancing to her favorites on the record player, working in the garden, roasting green chili’s or celebrating the current holiday.
She inherited from her brother Tom his copper Ford Mustang and drive it with wild abandon and skill, and while at the University of Arizona won numerous pinks slips with the car and then sold them back to the beaten drivers.
Fonda did everything with great enthusiasm and Love and held very little back. What you saw is what you got. She was quick to hug and quick to tell you off if she thought you needed either.
Fonda lived the South West, and although her final home was in Texas, her roots came from Deming, New Mexico, Camp Verde and Tucson, Arizona. The cactus were her trees and the desert sunsets the art of her heart. If there was something she could paste, paint or buy with a cactus on it, she did.
Fonda’s Love of Life, Love of the Lord, and her enthusiasm will be dearly missed in so many lives. She left us too soon, but is now in a better place.