SAN ANTONIO – Alicia Guajardo’s family said that even one month later, they struggled to accept what happened on July 26.
“I think we’re still in disbelief that this has happened to her,” Grace DeJesus, her niece, said. “You try to move forward, but you can’t help but think, why did this happen? Why did this happen to her?”
Guajardo died in a fire at her home just before 2 a.m. on July 26 in the 200 block of Ross Avenue, not far from South Zarzamora Street and West Malone.
Firefighters said they found heavy smoke and fire through the roof of the single-story home when they arrived. Fire officials said they found Guajardo dead inside the home.
It’s a sight Guajardo’s niece, Diana Cruz, keeps seeing over and over again in her head.
“I could see it and the smell, the smoke and everything. And I thought, ‘Oh my God, it’s not a dream,’” Diana said. “It’s hard. Especially after you see what you saw in this case. I never in my life thought this way. I thought disease I can handle or anything else, but not that way.”
The house is now demolished, but before that happened, the family grabbed any last photos and items they could find.
“She was our pride and joy. I mean, what can I say? She was very, very giving all the time to all of us,” Diana said.
Her sister, Sylvia Garcia, and three of her nieces, DeJesus, Diana and Sylvia Cruz, said they remember her as a leader and a lover and the woman they looked up to.
“I admired her so much,” Diana said. “I know she’s in a better place. I know she’s happy with my relatives, my mom and dad, her mom, my uncle, and everybody. But it’s not right the way she went.”
Known for her signature beehive hairstyle and love of tacos, DeJesus said there’s a hole without her here.
“I would describe her as the life of the party,” DeJesus said. “That was one of my memories. I always liked to go to the beauty shop with her. She had a standing appointment.”
One month later, her family is holding onto memories and finding a way to move forward.
“She’d want us to go on and continue what legacy she left,” DeJesus said.
