Carmen Palmer

"Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil..."

Carmen Palmer held tight to these words from Psalm 23 in her final days. Carmen is survived by her two sons Christopher and Richard. Beloved mother, grandmother to Rachel and Sarah Garcia, Madison Garcia, and Arianna Hamm, sister to Diana Veloz, Mary Mendez, Katie Veloz, Josie Regalado and Olivia Lopez. Aunt to Raul, Roy, Patricia and David Regalado, Mark and Richard Castro, Jesus Garcia, Kathleen Bhasin, Marina Knetge, Michael Peña, and Annette Wolerman, Lionel, Gary and Mitchell Mendez, Al, Mark, Matthew and Michael Garcia, and her namesake, Carmen Garcia. She loved her life. She loved laughing with her sisters. She loved her and her husband Frank’s rose gardens.

Carmen was born on January 14, 1939 in Jerome, Arizona to Jesus Veloz-Garcia and Pasquala Hernandez-Garcia. She moved to Los Angeles in her early childhood and stayed within the San Gabriel Valley most of her adult life with her husband Frank.

Carmen moved through the world like a force of nature. A lifelong Teamster, she had a feel for the underdog and loathed bullies. Carmen was fearless. She lived with all her might. And the world feels duller and colorless without her.

She loved cooking for those she cared for--those she loved and nurtured. Her first words when greeting a guest or family member was always, “have you eaten? Let me make you something,” which usually ended up being a familiar Mexican dish. Our favorite comfort food was her chicken enchiladas. As Pastor Brian Gatlin, who presided over her services, reminded us: “we nurture, we feed those we love.”

Despite the profound pain of our loss, of no more opportunities on this Earth to say: “I love you…Thank you.” Our hope is that we will meet again, in a world without pain, regret and grief. Even death cannot end a relationship.

"Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God"—Aeschylus.

Carmen, we love you. We miss you. We feel your strength, your ferocity, in every heartbeat...Until we meet again…