In Loving Memory of Lydia Guajardo Perez

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Lydia, who departed this world June 12, 2026, after a long, courageous journey battling the effects of dementia. She was born in 1936 in Apodaca, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. She was a true “country girl’ with her being born and weaned on her family ranch. Yet, destined for bigger pastures, in the 1950s Lydia was one of the first Mexican women to partake in university studies at the University of Nuevo León in Monterrey. Along with an undergraduate degree, she went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Microbiology and Pharmacy.

She married Andres Perez in July 1963. Later in the decade, they temporarily lived in Los Angeles, California, where they began to raise a family. Soon, Lydia and Andres eventually settled their family in Monterey Park, California. This was to be Lydia’s family’s home for four decades.

Early in the 1970s, Lydia began a long-term career as a clinical laboratory scientist at Pico Rivera Community Hospital. She was strong-willed in raising six children and simultaneously managing a full-time professional career. She was determined to provide her children a Catholic Education, where, with little time and few resources, she enrolled her children at Miraculous Medal Primary School in Montebello, California.

She was happily married for twenty-nine years until 1992 when Andres, her husband, passed away. Thereafter, she joined Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Bellflower, California, working in the Laboratory Department. She then married Ronald Benway in 2000 and lived with him in La Mirada, California. She stayed with Kaiser Permanente for more than two decades, with the final five years-or-so serving more in mentorship and volunteer roles for other laboratory staff, which showed her desire to help others by giving them a lot of her time. In 2022, she chose retirement to spend more time with Ronald, her children and her grandchildren, and her other relatives and friends. Eventually, in late 2024, she relocated to the Plano, Texas area, where she resided with one of her sons.

Her family enjoyed her wonderful storytelling of her experiences, with generous embellishments.

Her legacy lives on through those who survive her: her husband, Ronald Benway, and his son, Matthew Benway; her two daughters, Lydia (and her husband John Zeigler) and Adriana; and her four sons, Andy (and his wife Sandra), Raul (and his wife Ana), Mario, and Hugo. Ten grandchildren make up the remainder of her descendants: Amanda Santos, James Karroum II, Andrew Karroum, Matthew Nakano, Sophia Perez, Andres Perez, Viviana Perez, Levanya Perez, Samantha Perez, and Miranda Perez. She also had numerous nephews, nieces, and grand-nephews and -nieces both in the Southern California area and in the Mexican areas of Apodaca, Monterrey, and Mexico City.

Lydia was an incredibly devoted Catholic. She would often volunteer her time to assist with certain charitable needs at her parish. Most recently in Plano, Texas, she would visit parishioners’ families who were unable to attend church services due to illness or other incapacitations. These visitations to families in need of spiritual support embodied Lydia’s kindness and generosity, as it so illustrates the spirit of benevolence throughout much of her life. These included her desire to foster the continuity and love of family by spending time with her grandchildren, sharing stories, and leading a devout life in faith; even as time and health physically changed things later.

As we reflect on those things that made her live such a positive and rewarding life, we, her loved ones, want to remind everyone of what was most important to her: that of approaching her Judgment Day with God. With an open and pure heart, she tried to love God with all her heart and with all her mind. As she will soon lie in the earth ready for her journey to Heaven, our specific purpose is never to disturb her again… and we take great comfort in knowing that we have made her “bed”, in furtherance of her upcoming rendezvous with her Maker with great anticipation. Thus, we send her off with this final eloquence …

“Ample make this Bed.

Make this Bed with Awe;

In it wait till Judgment break

Excellent and Fair.

Be its Mattress straight,

Be its Pillow round;

Let no Sunrise’ yellow noise

Interrupt this Ground.”

[Emily Dickinson]

A Viewing and Rosary will be held on July 8, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. at Risher Mortuary & Cremation Service, 1316 W Whittier Blvd, Montebello, CA. Her life and faith will be honored with a Mass on July 9, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, 820 North Garfield Avenue, Montebello, CA. Following the Mass, a Burial will take place at Resurrection Cemetery, 966 Potrero Grande Drive, Rosemead, CA.

Those wishing to make a donation can direct them to

Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Parish, 820 N. Garfield Ave. Montebello, CA 90640, (323) 725-7576, www.OLMMParish.com