In Memory of Our Mom: Laura Elena Bustillos Vazquez

In Memory of Our Mom: Laura Elena Bustillos Vazquez

 

Dear Family, Friends, and Community:

 

On May 7, 2025, we suffered the sudden loss of our mother Laura Elena Bustillos Vazquez.

 

We will always remember our mother as a strong woman who cared deeply for her friends, family, and community. It was ironic that both our mother and Fred Rogers shared a birthday because Fred Rogers famously told children that when you feel scared you should look for the helpers. Our mother was a helper. As a nearly lifelong Los Angeleno and a resident of the Silver Lake neighborhood for over 40 years, our mother always did her best to help those around her.

 

As a teenager in East Los Angeles, she would take her younger siblings to the YMCA where she would eventually meet our father. She later worked at the California Medical Center in Downtown LA serving food to hospital staff and the families of patients in the cafeteria. When we attended elementary school at Micheltorena Elementary School, she would volunteer her time looking after students on the playground, assisting teachers on field trips, and attending the main office.

 

Our mother had many friends in the community and many of those friendships began because she saw someone who was in need, and she wanted to help. Whether it was giving food to the unhoused, helping runaway teens find their way back home, providing resources to recent immigrants, or offering to look after young children, our mother never hesitated to lend a helping hand.

 

She was a helper to the very end. Having dealt with diabetes for most of her life, our mother was not able to see or walk very well for the past few years. Yet, unbeknownst to all of us, she was a registered organ donor. We felt so proud of her knowing that even after her passing, she would be helping someone to see again with her cornea donations and help cancer patients who cannot walk to walk again with her marrow donations.

 

Although our mother was a US Resident who never applied for citizenship, she embodied all the qualities that we want from our citizens. She was altruistic, warmhearted, empathetic, and demonstrated a commitment to her community.

 

As a mother, she was the best anyone could ask for. She loved us dearly and showed us her love and affection through her words, actions, and especially through her cooking. She always welcomed our friends and made sure to always ask about how they were doing. Although our mother was definitely a worrier who may have inadvertently transferred some of her anxious tendencies to her children, she valued our freedom to express ourselves and was not concerned with what we chose to do with our lives as long as we were happy doing it. We were very fortunate to have been raised by her.

 

As a modest person we know our mom would find it difficult to ask for help from others, but with her sudden passing, we are in need of your support to honor her memory in a meaningful way. Your donations will help provide her with a farewell rooted in love and respect.

 

If you are unable to contribute financially, we ask that you consider sharing this message or holding our mother and her family in your thoughts and prayers. Feel free to share your memories of our mother below as we too would love to hear how she impacted your life. And last, we ask that you honor our mother by being a helper. Help the ones you can, in any way possible. What may seem like a small deed for you could very well be uplifting and life changing for someone else.

 

With love and gratitude,

 

Sal Jr., Monique, and Juan