Gloria Martha Estrada

Gloria Martha Estrada, 83, of Henderson, Colorado passed into eternal paradise with her beloved Savior, Jesus Christ, on Sunday, October 27, 2024. Since childhood, Gloria established herself as a doer – supporting her mother in caring for the daily needs of her siblings. As a teenager, Gloria accepted her call to service for the Lord and she championed this calling with great reverence throughout her years. Gloria never wanted to be remembered for her professional accomplishments, though she built an admirable career as a Regional Contracting Officer for the Social Security Administration. Spending time enriching the lives of her family and loved ones was among her most notable contributions. If one needed a spiritual pick-me-up, they could visit Gloria who – by the end of the visit – would have one feeling renewed by the knowledge of God that Gloria poured into them. Gloria spearheaded numerous endeavors to support her community, including hosting and funding large-scale events for the benefit of underrecognized or underprivileged populations. Gloria’s favorite area of contribution was towards the first-responder population - to which she distributed thousands of Bibles and personal prayers in support of their physical and spiritual well-being.

Gloria was preceded in death by her husband, Patrick Estrada; daughter, Aileen Duran; father, Feliberto Valdez; mother, Felonis Vasquez; step-father, Rufus Vasquez; brothers, Fred Valdez, Obed Valdez, Amador Valdez, Clarence Valdez, Luis Valdez, and Andrew Valdez; sisters, Josefita Valdez, Precsilla Martinez, Nora Montoya, and Pauline Bustos.

Gloria is survived by her brother, Lorenzo (Grace) Valdez; sisters, Celia Romero and Josie Valdez; children, Jon (Shelley) Cardenas, Tabitha Rodriquez, Valerie Soto, and Augustina (Ritchie) Sauceda; stepchildren, Roxanne (Lee) Quenzer, Suzanne (Ron) Bueno, and GaryLee (Tami) Estrada; son-in-law, John Duran; grandchildren, John Quenzer, Joseph (Catina) Quenzer, Antonio (Kindall) Soto, Michael (Jillian) Soto, Valerie (Hector) Rodriquez, Marcus (Kriss) Olivas, Sabrina (Jake) Richmeier, Rebecca (Maxwell) Taylor, Devin (Shayla) Olivas, Jerid Quenzer, Veronica Soto, Ashley (Alex) Young, Alesha (Mark) Kreutter, Ritchie (Claudia) Sauceda, Jr., Alyssa Soto, Zachary Cardenas, Fayelene Duran, Samantha (Juan) Villalpando, Winston (Abby) Rodriquez, Mariah (Dave) Gehl, Chloe Sauceda, and Kathleen Duran; and 27 great grandchildren.

As the matriarch of Cardenas Ministries, and “Grandma” to the masses, Gloria leaves a lovely legacy of benevolence for her children, grandchildren, nephews, nieces, and her brothers and sisters in Christ to continue to uphold.