Maria Magdalena Quintero Parra

On November 19, 2020, Maria Magdalena Quintero Parra, age 94, peacefully passed away in her Oak Lawn home with her children by her side. Maria was a strong, determined, and hard working woman who had 11 children, worked multiple jobs, and was married for 55 years to her late husband Francisco Herrera Parra. Maria was born in Yorba Linda, California and moved with her family to Mexico. This is where Maria met and married Francisco in the small town of El Pozole located in the Municipality of Canatlán (in the State of Durango) in 1952. In 1960, Maria left Mexico with her four daughters to join Francisco in the Pilsen area and made Chicago their new home. As a devout Catholic, Maria became a member of San Francisco of Asís (St. Francis of Assisi) Catholic Church and remained a faithful member of the church for 60 years. Maria was also a proud member of “Las Guadalupanas.” Women Devoted to Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Francis of Assisi. In 1996, Maria and the other brave Gradulupanas were responsible for saving San Francisco de Asís from being torn down. These women were so devoted to their church that they protested and grouped, by locking arms together in front of the church, praying as the wrecking ball showed up to tear down their beloved church, and ultimately kept the church from being demolished. Maria believed in fighting for, and giving 100% to everything she believed to be of importance. Maria was unbelievably dedicated to raising her family. She was reverent. She was strong, and she was a fierce protector of those she loved. When it came to her children, although firm, she taught her children to be faithful, humble, honorable, and persistent in their endeavors. She truly embraced life and served as a wonderful example of how to live an honorable and faithful life. Maria also loved to dance and would laugh gleefully as she told her stories of growing up in El Pozole where she would gather with her cousins and friends to dance to accordion music as soon as her father would leave for work. After retirement, Maria continued dancing and singing and would joyfully showed off her talent as a part of the senior citizen’s group at Harrison Park. Maria also loved gardening, as it was a large part of her life, leading to a unique blend of patience, vision, creativity, wisdom and kindness. More importantly, it taught her to love life in all forms. In closing, Maria was quite the distinguished woman always making sure she looked her very best, whether, it was going out or receiving family during the holidays. Maria is survived by her eight children, Maria Elena Parra, Maria Mayola Rodriguez, Maria Magdalena (Efrain) Rosado, Francisco (Joanne) Parra, Lorenza Parra (Albert) Ramirez, Jose Ignacio (Grace) Parra, Elsa (Chris) Ziegler, and Sergio Parra. In addition to her eight surviving children, she was blessed with 17 wonderful grandchildren and 14 beautiful great-grandchildren. Maria has now joined her parents, Jose Quintero Retana and Lorenza Hernandez Cervantes, her daughter, Hermelinda, her two sons, Ignacio and Jose, and her grandson, Rudolfo, along with her siblings Cecilia, Narcisco, Lorenza, Trancito, Estevan, and her husband Francisco who has been described as her “Gift from God” because of his love for her and their family. Francisco always said, “No hay nada más importante en la vida que la familia.” Funeral Tuesday 9:45 a.m. from Richard Modell Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 5725 S. Pulaski Road to St. Francis of Assisi Church Mass 10:30 a.m. Interment St. Mary Cemetery. Visitation Monday 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. (773) 767-4730 or www.richardmodellchicago.com