Yolanda Maria Gallegos Reynolds

Obituary

Yolanda Maria de la Luz Gallegos Reynolds passed away peacefully on December 1, 2023, at Sonnet Hill Senior Living in San Jose, California. She was 89 years young.Yolanda leaves behind her beloved husband of 61 years, Ray, her two sons, Mark and Daniel, her daughters-in-law Alice and Debbie, and her 4 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. She will be remembered for her unconditional love of her large extended family and is survived by three brothers, Alvaro, Modesto and Leonel and numerous beloved nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her brothers Jose, Emilio and Carlos.Yolanda was born on November 19, 1934, on a ranch alongside the Rio Grande River outside Del Norte, Colorado, to Modesto Cresencio Gallegos and Epimenia Adela Espinosa Gallegos. Yolanda grew up as the only girl in a family of seven children. Raised on a ranch surrounded by boys gave her both a strength and toughness that she carried throughout her life. Her fondest memory of the ranch was riding her horse across the open pastures, and dinner with her family.Yolanda went away to boarding school in Kansas, to Mount St. Scholastica (The same school her mother had attended 30 years prior) in Atchison Kansas and graduated in 1952. While she was away at school, the family moved to Santa Cruz de la Ca¤ada in Northern New Mexico. After graduating from Mount St. Scholastica, Yolanda joined her family in New Mexico and worked at a bank to save money to open a department store with her brother, Alvaro. The store was successful, and she took pride in making the customers happy. She also found time to develop a passion for the arts in Santa Fe, she spent many a day in the town plaza searching for the silver and turquoise jewelry she loved so much.Yolanda and Ray met for the first time when her older brother, Emilio, came home from college and brought his friend Ray. Years later, when Ray was working at Los Alamos National Laboratories, he made his way down the hill to Emilio’s house and Yolanda was there. That day was the beginning of a life-long relationship. They were later married, and the newly-weds moved to San Jose, California, for her husband’s new job at NASA.Once settled in California, Yolanda earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from San Jose State University (SJSU). She first worked at Lincoln High School in San Jose, before teaching and counseling at Willow Glen High School in San Jose while also earning her Master’s degree from SJSU. She then worked at Evergreen Valley College, first as a counselor and later as the Assistant Provost at Night for both the main and satellite campuses.Yolanda’s education career ended when she suffered a brain hemorrhage, but as she recuperated, she found a new outlet for her passion to help others and her community. This took form in the founding of the Shasta Hanchett Park Neighborhood Association, where she served as its first president, which became one of the most influential neighborhood associations in San Jose. Through her persistent advocacy she helped preserve the beautiful character of the neighborhood, preventing street widening and tree removal.Yolanda then found yet another path to help her community as a reporter for La Oferta, a local bilingual newspaper, and wrote many articles detailing the politics and events in San Jose. Yolanda hosted a local radio program, interviewing guests on social issues, always with a view toward social justice.Yolanda was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, and aunt devoted to keeping connected to her large extended family. She was a great beauty inside and out and her exquisite sense of style centered around her love of the New Mexican landscape and traditional Southwestern artisans. She was a passionate supporter and patron of local artists, weavers, pottery makers and jewelers. Yolanda and Ray lived in their beautiful house and raised their sons in the Rose Garden neighborhood surrounded by wonderful neighbors who looked out for each other and celebrated together. Yolanda especially enjoyed hosting the droves of trick-or-treaters who came to their door at Halloween.Yolanda’s family and friends will remember her as a warm and gracious hostess, always willing to open her home to guests for a homecooked meal on a beautifully set table followed by one of her famous delicious pies or chocolate cake. She was also the one to establish cherished family traditions like the annual Easter picnic in Golden Gate Park, open to family and any friends who wanted to tag along. Her natural warmth made everyone feel welcome. She touched the lives of so many and will be dearly missed most especially by the great love of her life Ray, with whom she shared an extraordinary, constant devotion and adoration.Family and friends are invited to a celebration of life that will be held later this year. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations to the Alzheimer’s Association or dementia research.