Carmen Rosa Zambrano was born on December 1, 1954 in Mazatlan, Mexico. She passed peacefully from this earth on the morning of January 25, 2017 in La Jolla, CA. Carmen was the oldest of three sisters and grew up in Mazatlan, Ontario, and Mexico City before settling in National City and attending Sweetwater High School. She was president of the German club and proud captain of the drill team. She attended UCSD where she earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and met the father of her children. In 1979 Mitch and Carmen welcomed their first child Christopher into the world. Shortly after, in 1982, they welcomed their second child Erica. Carmen was an incredibly loving and dedicated mother. Whether she was attending softball, soccer, or basketball games, helping build projects and sew Halloween costumes, or feeding all of the kids that passed through her kitchen, there was nothing she loved more than being a mom. But Carmen’s greatest joy in life came with the birth of her grandson Isaiah in 2001. From this day on she was affectionately known as Grammie. Carmen would do anything for Isaiah and it was clear from the beginning that they shared a bond like no other. Carmen loved her boys and cooking for them, whether it was chorizo on Saturday morning or Cornish game hens for dinner, everything she made was delicious. Carmen worked tirelessly for over 30 years in the health and human services industry. She spent most of her career working with Home Start and the Central Region Community Services for Families (CSF) project providing support groups to victims of domestic violence. She was an advocate for children and families and believed whole-heartedly in Home Start’s mission of assuring the safety and resiliency of children by strengthening families and their communities. Carmen cared deeply about other people and took great pride in helping others. There was never a person in need that she wouldn’t or couldn’t help. From neighborhood kids who needed extra love to all of the people in the City Heights community that came to her for assistance at work. She loved helping people and people loved her. Carmen was the kindest, gentlest, most loving soul you could ever meet. She didn’t have a mean or angry bone in her body and you’d be hard pressed to find someone who has any memory of her ever being mad. Carmen was hilarious, witty, and incredibly sharp. She loved to laugh and always kept us on her toes with her clever remarks. Carmen is survived by her loving family: son Christopher (Monica), daughter Erica (Richard), grandson Isaiah, parents Fernando and Carmen, and sisters Myrna and Chrissy. We know that Carmen would not want us to be sad, but be grateful for the love and life we’ve been given. She would want us to laugh and rejoice at the remarkable woman that she was and most of all she would want us to continue her legacy of helping others in need. “A life that touches others goes on forever.”