Mari Carmen Toledano Lentisco unexpectedly went to be with her Lord and Savior in Heaven on Saturday November 6, 2021. Mari Carmen was born on February 21, 1951in the seaside town of Adra, Spain to Jose Maria and Carmen Toledano. Mari Carmen's family immigrated to the United States, when she was eleven years old, and they made Vacaville their home. Even as a young child, Mari Carmen stood out in a crowd. She was beautiful but didn't know it and was mature beyond her years. As a young, Spanish girl in a new country, Mari Carmen confronted the many challenges of learning a new language, culture, and way of life, while leading by example in taking care of her two younger sisters that she adored. Her strong spirit, desire to learn, and passion for her family, motivated her to not let the struggles and obstacles stop her from doing her best in school and making her way in this new country.

During her high school years, Mari Carmen met and fell in love with Emilio Lentisco, and they were married in 1971. Mari Carmen began working as a salesperson at Strauman's store in Vacaville and worked there until the store closed. Her time working at Strauman's brought her many happy memories and is where she met one of her lifetime friends, Shirley Mahler. Shirley became more than a friend to Mari Carmen, she became family. She would spend time teaching Mari Carmen about the American culture, the English language and was there for Mari Carmen in the celebrations and the sadness of life. When Strauman's closed, Mari Carmen worked at Will C. Wood High School as a bilingual teacher's aide. She had always dreamed of becoming a teacher and helping her students overcome the same language barriers that she faced. This job gave her a lot of joy and fulfillment and many years later her students still spoke about the impact and kindness that she made in their lives. After her time working as a teacher's aide, Mari Carmen was hired at Basic American Foods where she worked in administrative and clerical work. She worked in the Vacaville office, and later when this office closed, she continued working at the Walnut Creek office for over twenty years.

Mari Carmen had always wanted to be a mother, and in 1974 her dream came true when she gave birth to her one and only, daughter, Trini. From the start, Mari Carmen and Trini had an extra special bond and were inseparable. Whether Mari Carmen was doing her seamstress work as a side job, or watering her lovely plants and flowers, little Trini was by her mother's side. Mari Carmen was known for telling people that her daughter Trini was the one good thing she had done in her life. They were best friends and loved to spend time together shopping, going for coffee, watching movies, especially Hallmark Christmas movies. She was an exceptional mother and worked and sacrificed her entire life so that her daughter could enjoy the sweet things in life, get an education and never go without. Her daughter was her pride and joy and she encouraged her in all she did. When her daughter was young, she began calling her mother "Mamal" and although Mari Carmen thought it a bit strange, it ended up being a term of endearment and she became Trini's Mamal. Mari Carmen was very proud to be a Spaniard and loved sharing her Spanish roots and traditions with everyone she met, including her daughter's Spanish students. She wanted them to learn about the beauty and delicious Spanish cuisine and would make paella each year for her daughter's Spanish Club students. The students grew to love her and couldn't believe that Señora Stitt had such an adorable and young-looking mother. Mari Carmen was a woman of great faith and was the first person to instill the love for God in her daughter. She taught her the importance of prayer and never losing faith in life. She was a prayer warrior and could be called upon by family and friends to light a candle and pray for whatever the need was.

Mari Carmen lived for her family. She enjoyed traveling to Spain with her husband and daughter. Mari Carmen and Emilio had saved for many years so that they could one day own a piso in her hometown of Adra, and when this happened, it was a dream come true. Mari Carmen was extremely proud to be from Adra, Spain and anyone who truly knew her, knew this. She loved her family in Spain very much and cherished the summers they had together, taking a stroll on the beach, smelling the salt air while enjoying a tinto de Verano and eating tapas. She loved to visit her favorite pastry shop from her childhood "Pastelería San Isidro" and indulge in her favorite Spanish pastry, murcianos. As a child, she was like a mother to her two younger sisters, Dolores and Trini, and that love, and care carried through to their adult years. She loved spending time with her sisters, reminiscing about their time in Spain over a yummy pastry and coffee, going shopping in search of that great deal, watching a movie, or just being together and playing Spanish cards. Mari Carmen never took for granted the time that they spent together and could always be counted on to listen or share some of her wisdom. Her sisters meant so much to her and she tried to always be there for them to encourage them, motivate them, and comfort them during the hard times. Dolores and Trini were her first friends, and they were adored by their big sister.

Mari Carmen loved being a "Tita". Being an aunt to her nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews meant so much to Mari Carmen. She was so loved that even some of her nieces and nephews' friends referred to her as "Tita", and that warmed her heart. She was the most loving and caring Tita and would always do her best to be at as many school events, and special occasions as she could, with her camera ready to take pictures of her kids. Her nieces and nephews shared childhood memories of spending the night at Tita's and waking up to the most delicious waffles, fun trips to get Winchel's donuts, and marble fudge ice cream at every birthday party. Tita Carmen, as she was called, was truly a second mother to her nieces and nephews. They knew that Tita would always be present in the moments that meant the most to them and would be a phone call or text away if they ever needed anything. She wasn't the most confident driver, but she never let it keep her from getting her daughter or nieces and nephews to where they needed to go and spending time with them was always the highlight of her day.

Mari Carmen had many friends; some that she had met years ago and still met up with to catch up, and others that she had gotten to know at her church, New Hope Christian Fellowship. She loved getting dressed up and enjoying tea or going to lunch with these sweet ladies that she trusted, confided in, and prayed with. Mari Carmen was a very compassionate and caring friend, who would always put the needs of others before her own. She would hear of a friend who was ill and be the first person to take them a meal, flowers or just stop by for a brief visit. While living on Lollipop Lane, for years she would greet friends with a big smile at the door as they would stop by on their way to walk to see the lights and always offer them something warm to drink and some of her delicious Spanish cookies. She loved baking traditional Christmas cookies from Spain with her daughter, Trini, and would be sure to have a Christmas tin full of her polvorones, roscillos and mantecados to give to each friend. An inside joke between her son in law, Will, and her was that the first time he met Mari Carmen it was around Christmas time, and she had just baked a batch of her polvorones. She offered Will a cookie and from that point on he was hooked, and they would often joke around that he truly fell in love with her cookies before her daughter. This banter between Will and Mari Carmen was common and he had a way of making her laugh so hard that she'd cry.

There were so many little things about Mari Carmen that made her an extra special person. She was an exceptional wife and homemaker who even when working a full-time job, would make a home cooked meal for her family and keep an immaculate home. She would literally see a crumb from across the room and get up during a movie to pick it up. Her garden was very important to her, and she enjoyed watering all her succulents, plants, and flowers before the heat of the day. Her favorite flowers were carnations, and her daughter Trini and son-in-law Will would be sure to shower her with bouquets of carnations on her birthday, Mother's Day, and just because. She was an extremely creative and intelligent person who could look at a photograph and knit a sweater, hat, or scarf without a pattern. She was amazing at math and could do figures in her head that would puzzle most people. She was organized, hard-working, and an excellent budgeter and saver. Mari Carmen loved to look nice, get her hair done from her favorite hair stylist, and wouldn't dare go out of the house without her eye liner and lipstick. She believed in good manners, living with etiquette, and being generous, and made sure to instill theses values in her sisters, daughter, and nieces and nephews. She had a sweet tooth and would rather skip dinner than pass up something chocolate or a slice of pumpkin pie. She was the glue that kept her family together and they cannot imagine navigating through this life without her beautiful and genuine spirit. Mari Carmen has left a tremendous legacy and she will never be forgotten.

Mari Carmen is preceded in death by her father Jose Maria Toledano, her mother, Carmen Toledano and sister, Dolores Toledano. She is survived by her husband, Emilio and her adored daughter, Trini, and son in law, Will. She was a cherished sister to Trini and her husband, Robert; and a precious Tita to her nieces and nephews; Loli and her fiancé, André; and her children, Kekoa and Malia, Cristina Eva, and Josephine and her husband, Freddy; and their children Marisa, Joseph, and Daniel and nephew Joseph, and his girlfriend, Gabi.

A graveside service will be held on Tuesday November 23, 2021, at 10:00 am at the Vacaville-Elmira Cemetery.