Hughson Unified employee, advocate for Spanish-speaking students, dies from COVID
Hughson Unified paraprofessional Mary “Tonie” Orozco died Aug. 30 after contracting COVID-19. She was 67.
Orozco was loved by her family and school community, who remember her as a generous, passionate advocate for students whose first language was not English, according to a school district press release.
She was not vaccinated but was planning to get her first dose soon, her daughter, Jane Venn, said. Orozco’s husband, Amador Orozco, had received his first dose of a vaccine, Venn said.
“Our family wanted to make sure we did all our research, you know, on our own before we made our final decisions for her family to be vaccinated,” Venn said. “But it was a choice that we had decided.”
The couple, married 49 years, contracted the virus around the same time, Venn said. Amador Orozco spent one day in the hospital and was sent home to quarantine. Mary Orozco spent 19 days at Doctors Medical Center.
She fell into a coma and was put on a ventilator, Venn said. She came out of the coma and began feeling better, but on her 18th day, she developed a secondary infection in her lungs. Doctors called it COVID pneumonia, Venn said.
Her mom was generous and always put others first, she said.
“It didn’t matter what I needed,” Venn said. “She would just be there.”
Orozco was from San Diego and worked as a bilingual paraprofessional for more than 43 years.
Her favorite color was purple. Artwork of angels filled her house.
Her family loved her cooking, especially her potato tacos and chicken tacos, Venn said. Whenever she wanted an “adult beverage,” as Orozco liked to call it, she ordered a rum and Coke, make it a double shot, Venn recalled.
Orozco worked at Ross Middle School
Orozco planned to retire from Ross Middle School in Hughson after the 2021-22 school year, according to the district’s press release. She became sick before the first day of school.
Principal Mary La Rosa said Orozco acted as a liaison between school officials and students who struggled, according to the release. Though fluent in Spanish and English, Orozco worked with all students whose first language was not English.
“She would stay after school a couple of days a week to help students with their homework,” La Rosa said. “She would go to their classes so she better understood their lessons, then she would call parents at home to keep them informed.”
English teacher Crystal Case worked with Orozco for 22 years. “She had an unparalleled work ethic,” Case said.
She last saw Orozco volunteering at a “roundup day” the week before school started. She sat by the front door, mask on, greeting students and their families. Some parents were former students, Case said. She recalled them hugging Orozco, so excited to see her again.
“I think it was a beautiful last day for her to be part of our school community,” Case said.
She became sick soon after.
Orozco is survived by her husband, Amador, daughter Jane Venn, son-in-law Darren Venn, grandson Ethan, brothers Art, Joe and Tito, and sisters Nicky, Mary Helen, Lupe and Norma, in addition to nieces, nephews and Godchildren, according to an obituary provided by Jane Venn.
This story was originally published September 4, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
