Carmen Cervantes' Obituary
Carmen Vinoski Cervantes, 81 of Ashburn, Virginia passed on Saturday, December 26, 2015, in Haymarket, Virginia.
Carmen was born Saturday, October 20, 1934 in Fork Ridge, Tennessee, a coal mining camp on the border of Tennessee and Kentucky. She was the oldest of 6 siblings. Her parents were John Paul Vinoski and Stella Gracie Robinson both deceased. 3 of her siblings have predeceased her, Delores Vinoski Fountain (Grahame), Luther Vinoski (Ruby Anderson), Monty Vinoski. She is survived by Eleanor Vinoski McGaha (Jim) and Joe Vinoski (Marilyn Keiffer).
After graduation from Middlesboro High School, she moved to Washington DC with a few of her high school friends. She found work with the Department of Treasury as a secretary. She worked in the office of the Secretary of Treasury under President Johnson, Henry H. Fowler. She also worked for William E. Simon, Secretary of Treasury under President Nixon. After working as a secretary, she moved to the Secretary’s mailroom, where she was in charge of the staff who opened the Secretary’s mail. She was a kind hearted woman and felt deeply for the people who wrote those letters who were suffering financial hardship.
She retired from the Federal Government in the mid-eighties. She sold her house in Springfield, VA where she had raised her family and moved near Harper’s Ferry, WV. Carmen worked for the Loudoun County Water Authority for a few years before saying goodbye to employment altogether.
She met and married Rafael Cervantes, a Guatemalan who had come to Washington DC for school and work in 1955. They had 4 children. They divorced after 22 years of marriage. Carmen worked very hard to better herself. She learned to speak Spanish so she could communicate with her husband’s family. She was a voracious reader and loved all types of music. She owned 100’s of cookbooks and was a gourmet cook. Carmen inspired her grandson to become a Chef.
She leaves her family to cherish her memory including 2 siblings, her only daughter, Monica Cervantes and son-in-law Timothy Buchholz, her sons, David Cervantes, Edward and daughter-in-law Deborah Cervantes, Andrew Cervantes and partner David Malpass. She also leaves her former husband Rafael Cervantes, many nieces and nephews, 5 grandchildren, Evan, Nicole (Nikki), Christine, Korrin and Brianna, and 2 great grandchildren Avery and Garrett.
Services and interment will be held privately by the family.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Carmen’s memory to Alzheimer’s Association, or to the Washington area Animal Rescue League.
What’s your fondest memory of Carmen?
What’s a lesson you learned from Carmen?
Share a story where Carmen's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Carmen you’ll never forget.
How did Carmen make you smile?