Resident Spotlight At Assisted Living Community
This month’s Renaissance Village Rancho Belago Assisted Living Community Resident Spotlight is Yolanda S.
Yolanda was born in Tampico of Tamaulipas, Mexico, a beautiful port city near the Gulf of Mexico. However, the city is no longer what she remembers. The Cartels have made it one of the most dangerous cities in Mexico. It’s been over 40 years since she was there. Yolanda remembers spending time at the beach and camping with her
brother and sister. Her father is of Spaniard descent and her mother was born in Laredo, Texas of Irish descent. Both of her grandfathers had red-haired and blue-eyed. Yolanda inherited their red hair. She was the youngest of the family and enjoyed being the baby.
Yolanda’s parents were very loving and kind. Her father was a chemist and her mother upheld the home as a housewife. She attended El Verbo Encarnado Catholic School. Every year they would come to Laredo, Texas to buy clothing. Her favorite part was going to the local soda fountain for hamburgers and ice cream.
Finding Love in Seattle
When Yolanda was 20 years old her mother put her on a plane to Seattle to visit her sister. While there she befriended a woman in her sister’s building. The woman’s husband was a sergeant in the United States Army. The woman invited her to a dance on base at Fort Lewis. It was here she met her future husband, Vernon. The two dated during her visit, and later when Vernon discharged as a corporal he followed her to Mexico. Yolanda and Vernon married and moved to Wisconsin where Vernon was originally from.
Vernon returned to a job he held before he entered the service. They lived in Wisconsin for six months, but it was so cold for Yolanda who grew up in the tropics. They moved to Cleveland, Ohio as Vernon said it would be warmer. Yolanda shares it wasn’t any warmer, and Vernon decided to return to university. Yolanda and Vernon lived in Cleveland for 15 years before they made the move to Michigan. After three years in Michigan, they moved to California.
Raising Children & Overcoming Loss
Together they have four children, three boys and one girl. They named the eldest boy, Vernon after his father, then it’s Andrew, Linda, and Chuck (Carlos). Yolanda shared that raising the four of them was an absolute circus, but she completely enjoyed. She says that every day was a good time raising these bright and funny children. Her biggest take away as their mother is you need a lot of patience. She shares motherhood is the hardest job you can get. All four children have become successful in their respective careers. Vernon is a chemist, Andrew is a dentist, Linda is a teacher, and Chuck is a computer software developer.
When her husband, Vernon discharged from the Army he applied for insurance. However, het was later denied because he had an enlarged heart. He had unknowingly contracted Rheumatic fever as a child. It had gone undiagnosed as a child and even during his time in the service. The doctors shared the condition was serious, and he later passed away at the age of 48 after 26 years of marriage.
When he passed away Yolanda had to figure out how to make ends meet. This was terrifying for Yolanda, but she’s a woman of faith and she knew He was with her through it all. She only had a high school education so she pursued real estate classes at a community college in Riverside. She wanted to learn beyond what you need to know to get your license. At the time, her eldest sons were attending UCLA. Her daughter went to Irvine, and she and her son, Chuck, lived together.
Traveling & Enjoying Life
She traveled throughout the United States, and after her husband passed she went to Italy. It was her goal to see the Vatican. She also went to Hawaii, St. Croix, and the Virgin Islands. She married another man briefly, and they enjoyed going on cruises together. However, they were only married for seven years before he passed away.
In her spare time, Yolanda enjoys playing Black Jack and reading crime and mystery novels. In fact one of her grandchildren, Ryan wrote a book called The Emperor of Vegas. Yolanda is a great-grandmother. She enjoys this because you can visit, enjoy them, and then say goodbye. She loves getting to enjoy her time with them and not having the responsibility of discipline. All of her grandchildren are also successful. They all hold positions as firemen, lawyers, dietitian, finances, and other occupations.
What Yolanda enjoys most about living at Renaissance Village is she doesn’t have to do anything. She loves that we take care of everything she needs. She’d encourage anyone to come live at Renaissance Village. She shares there’s so much to do, you can enjoy good dinners and conversations with your neighbors. She says “it’s time to close the store and enjoy your life.”
