Guadalupe Varela Bringhurst

Guadalupe Varela Bringhurst (Lupe) of Pocatello, ID departed this world Sunday June 11th, 2023. She is preceded in death by her husband, Owen Bringhurst, and her youngest daughter, Patricia Ann Bringhurst Pond. She spent her final days surrounded by family and friends, some of whom traveled long distances to be at her side. Born in Douglas, AZ, July 27th, 1934 to José Jesús Varela and Guadalupe Necochea, she attended school in Douglas, graduated, fell in love with a young “gringo” G.I. and married him. They had 4 beautiful children in Douglas. Then, in 1969, the family moved to her husband Owen’s hometown of Pocatello, ID where she would spend the next several decades of her life raising her children and then grandchildren on lovingly made tortillas, frijoles, albondigas, menudo, tamales, and even scrapple, using her mother-in-law’s recipe. Her kitchen was the heart of the house and nobody ever went home with an empty stomach. She loved shopping, crafting, and Christmas gatherings with her family. She loved flowers and gardens and handmade knickknacks. She had a teasing, playful sense of humor. Better than anyone, she knew the importance of ending a long difficult day with a little bit of dessert. She was a lively and social member of her community and church and at times it seemed that she had a boundless supply of energy and determination that not even the loss of her leg in her 80s could fully dampen. Though she called Pocatello home, the desert landscape of Arizona and her Mexican culture were always a source of nostalgia and pride for her, and she passed that on as much as she could to her descendants. She will be mourned and missed by all those whose lives she impacted.

She is survived by her children Leslie (Gary) Gagosian of Salem, OR, Robert (Irma) Bringhurst of Las Vegas, NV, and Steven (Connie) Bringhurst of San Diego, CA; grandchildren (who knew her as “Nana”) Tony Moran, Josiah Gagosian, Benjamin Gagosian, Jason Bringhurst, Jarred Kobus, Colton Kobus, Michael Bringhurst, Eric Bringhurst, and Cassandra Bringhurst, as well as numerous great-grandchildren; sisters Teresa Varela and Francisca “Panchi” Varela.

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