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April 18, 2023For 2023, the extended Sierra family has been chosen for special recognition as the Family of the Year on the 104th anniversary of Santa Cruz Parish.
Four years ago, Vincente and Sofia were featured in the parish's bulletin when Santa Cruz was celebrating the centenary of the parish. Vincente and Sofia Sierra are the patriarch and matriarch of five generations of the Sierra family. Vincente died on December 17, 2021. Recognizing his extended family is also a way of honoring his memory.
An extended family is defined as a family that extends beyond the nuclear family, including grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other relatives, who all live nearby or in one household. This is an accurate description of the Sierra family.
The Sierras live in Southern Tucson. Vincente Sierra was the head usher of the noon Mass. He started ushering after he made his Cursillo in 1969. His wife Sofia (Corella) also made her Cursillo in 1969. Since the death of Vincente, it is still too painful for Sofia to attend the noon Mass, so the pastor brings her Holy Communion every Friday.
For the past year, there has always been a baby in a crib in the same room with Sofia. This baby is Sofia’s great-great granddaughter. Her name is Veronica. She is the daughter of Marina, the daughter of Edward, the son of Vincente Jr., who is the son of the late Vincente Sierra. Sofia also has a great-great grandson named Mark Jr., descended from their son Tony. That’s not all – Sofia has a great-grandson, Jesus, the grandson of her late son, Jesus. He is ushering at the noon Mass, just like his great-grandfather, Vincente. Their children and grandchildren have been altar servers at Santa Cruz Church.
Vincente and Sofia raised their four children in Santa Cruz Parish: Tony, Vincente Jr., Jesus, and Teresa. They were all baptized at Santa Cruz and made their First Holy Communion there. The house has been Sofia’s residence since she and Vincente moved there in 1968. Sofia (Corella) was baptized at Santa Cruz. Vincente was from La Union, New Mexico, near El Paso, but was in Arizona that he was destined to settle with his beautiful bride in the early ‘50’s.
They met in the cotton fields of Marana. They were civilly married in 1953 when Vincente was nineteen years old, and Sofia eighteen. In 1966, Fr. Narciso blessed their marriage at the Capilla de San Antonio, a neighborhood chapel that the parish had on West 34th Street. Vincente and Sofia renewed their wedding vows with Bishop Kicanas on their 60th Anniversary.
Vincente used to drive a bus to pick up children for their CCD classes. After working as a meat cutter for sixteen years for Farmer Johns, Vincente started his own trucking business that he called Sierra Trucking. He then expanded his business to roofing. He did a lot of roofing for Santa Cruz church and school over the years. Vincente Jr. now runs the roofing business, which at one time employed 16 workers. Two of Vincente’s great-grandsons, Mark and Jesus, work with their great-uncle, Vincente Jr., as roofers. Vincente Jr.’s sister, Terry, did the bookkeeping until she suffered a stroke. It is now done by her great niece, Marina, whose office is in Sofia’s home.
Vincente and Sofia’s children live close by. From their four children, Tony, Vincente Jr., Jesus (deceased), and Teresa, there are twelve grandchildren. From the twelve grandchildren have come twenty-four great-grandchildren. Now there are two great-great-grandchildren. All five generations live in Tucson, except for two of Tony’s grandsons, one whom is in the Navy, and the other in the Marines. The Sierra family tree is big and deeply rooted in Santa Cruz Parish.
Few people live to see their great-great grandchildren. The Sierra’s are one of the many families that make Santa Cruz Parish so great.
