Obituary of Socorro Rivera Cepeda

Socorro “Sue” Rivera Cepeda, 78 Socorro R. Cepeda died peacefully on January 22, 2016 after a several year struggle with the disease Dementia. Socorro was born in Tornillo, Texas, on January 8th, 1938, the daughter of Patricio and Margarita Rivera of Zacatecas, Mexico. Socorro, also known to her friends as Sue, grew up in El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico. In her early 20s, while working at a clothing manufacturing company in El Paso, she met the love of her life, Hector J. Cepeda Sr. The couple loved to dance and laugh and have a great time out on the town. In 1962, the two married and soon thereafter moved to Los Angeles to begin what would be a 40 year partnership filled with love, happiness, and joy. Originally a stay-at-home mother of three, Socorro later found work at several manufacturing companies in the South Bay before enrolling in Beauty College at John Perry Cosmetology School in Torrance. Socorro excelled as a student and was very proud of passing her state board exams, with limited English, on the first try. Always the entrepreneur, Socorro was not content to work for others and, with the help of her supportive husband, purchased an existing beauty salon in Lawndale and re-named it Sue’s Hair Fashions. The couple would eventually open two subsequent salons in Harbor City and Torrance. In addition to raising her three children, Socorro and her husband Hector, a union worker and official with the ILWU Local 26, loved to travel. Their destinations included many US locations, as well as Canada, Mexico, Cuba, South America, and Hawaii. She used to say, “getting to know other places was one of the most beautiful things in life”. After the death of her husband in 2003, Socorro continued to travel with her children and church groups to Mexico and Italy. In Rome, Italy, Socorro attended mass with Pope Benedict and visited many churches and cathedrals. Socorro was a 50 year resident of the Los Angeles area, most of those years living in the family home in Harbor City. After the passing of her husband, she bought a condo at Sunset Gardens in Torrance and eventually moved to Portland, Oregon, with her son Hector II where she lived for three years. Her smile and laughter were only surpassed by her tremendous generosity and kindness. She will be missed by all who knew her. Socorro is survived by her sister, Margarita Espinoza, and her three children, Esther Hatch (Will), Helena Cepeda Yeager (Rick), and Hector J. Cepeda II (Pilar), as well as her five grandchildren, Hector III, Eliana, Anika, Gabriel, and Willie. She also leaves behind numerous loving relatives and friends in Texas, California, and Oregon. Services are yet to be determined but will be held in Los Angeles in the Spring. Condolences can be made at cascadiacremation.com where future service information will be posted.