Tula Guzman

Tula Gomez Guzmán, loving wife and mother of three, died peacefully at home among her family in Long Beach, Calif., on Tuesday, Feb. 11. She was 101 years old.

She is survived by a younger brother, Bobby Gomez; her eldest son, Jerry Guzmán; her daughter, Eleanor Barrie and her husband Clay; her youngest son, Robert Guzmán, and his wife, Lucia; five grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.

Tula survived a difficult childhood during the Great Depression to become a college graduate, a world traveler and a homemaker who provided her own children with stability and comfort. She found a life that suited her and insisted on living it her way. Tula was kind, generous and patient, though not afraid to express an opinion. She never learned to drive, relying instead on her husband and his Lincoln Continental -- or, if they were not available, the bus. She was quiet and reserved, but known to cheer loudly for her favorite football team, the Raiders. She greeted visitors warmly but let them know when they had outstayed their welcome. And for nearly all of her century-long life, she drank only coffee, never water, which she claimed disagreed with her.

Tula Gomez was born July 14, 1918, a middle child of 13, in Douglas, Ariz., to Rafaela and Bernardo Gomez. The family moved early in her life to San Pedro and found work in the canneries, though Tula briefly endured homelessness as a little girl -- a subject she rarely discussed. She dropped out of high school during her 10th-grade year to work in a cannery and help support the family.

As a teenager she attended a social dance where she met Tony Guzmán, a young immigrant from Mexico. The two fell in love and took out a marriage license, thinking the document made them legally wed. Only years later, when Tony applied for American citizenship, did they learn they were not, in fact, husband and wife. Tula and Tony married properly in 1941 and, just to be sure, once more in 1989.

Meanwhile, the Guzmáns achieved a level of prosperity that once seemed out of reach. They moved from Long Beach’s West Side to a quiet cul-de-sac near California Heights, then moved again further north into Bixby Knolls, their final home. Tula still made a daily batch of flour tortillas, but on her later years she preferred instead to dine with her husband at classic surf-and-turf restaurants like the Tasman Sea in San Pedro and Tony’s on the Pier in Redondo Beach. Over the decades they became such regulars -- he in a colored shirt with a suit-jacket, she in a blouse with pearls -- that reservations were no longer required. Even on a crowded weekend night, a table somehow always materialized for them.

As her children grew older, Tula determined to complete her education. She attended night school to obtain her high school equivalency diploma. She took classes at Long Beach City College, then enrolled in California State University, Long Beach, despite the three-bus commute it required. In 1978, at the age of 59, Tula Guzmán graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in home economics and celebrated with her family.

She also made a point of seeing the world. Over the years she found her way to Russia, China, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Mexico and much of Europe and the United States.

After Tony Guzmán died in 2009, Tula’s health began to decline. Though confined to bed in her final years, she was attended virtually around the clock by her dedicated caregiver, Melba. The family wishes to thank hospice and all those who came to visit.

Services for Tula Guzmán will be held Saturday, Feb. 29, at 2 p.m. at Green Hills Memorial Park, 27501 Western Ave. in Rancho Palos Verdes; (310) 521-4333. A reception will follow at the Madeo Room at the Doubletree by Hilton, 2800 Via Cabrillo Marina in San Pedro; (310) 514-3344.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Long Beach.