It is with great pain and sorrow that we announce the passing of Maria (Mary) Higuera Diamantoulis. The loss was completely unexpected, leaving family and friends shocked and deeply saddened.

Maria lived a happy and adventurous life with many accomplishments. It started when she was elected President of her 3rd grade class. During 6th grade she was elected Chief of Patrols. While in High School she was elected President of D.E.C.A. (Distributed Education Clubs of America). Maria, along with Denise Robinson, and Jessie Villa represented Pueblo High School at the State level and they won 1st place. From there Maria spoke at several luncheons, including the Lions Club, among others, to raise money for D.E.C.A. to attend the Regionals competition. Maria would go on to graduate in the top 10% of her class.

After High School she attended Pima Community College. While at Pima, Maria competed in a Pool Tournament. She ended up winning. There was no prize, just bragging rights! During her time at Pima College, she applied to work at Mountain Bell Telephone Company, which would later go on to become Centurylink. She was hired as a Telephone Operator and held several positions with the company, among them, Phone Center Representative, Service Representative, Collections Dispatcher, Service and Repair Technician, Placing Crew. She ended her career as a Fiber Optic Splicer.

At the time Maria was the only female in Southern Arizona that was splicing fiber optics for CenturyLink. A couple of days after 9-11, Maria was 1 of 3 employees who underwent an emergency background check. Maria and the others were escorted onto Davis Monthan Air Force Base and she placed a telephone line specifically for a jet that was ready to take off in case of an emergency. This was just one example of how well trusted and respected she was in her career with CenturyLink. Maria also proudly served as a Union rep for CWA. Maria retired from the phone company, but still kept very busy.

While retired, Maria's mother fell ill and she along with her siblings became devoted caregivers. Maria was known as the "ice-breaker" of the bunch because when she was there, she would do all the "fun stuff" with her mother, like paint her nails, play word search games, and make beaded bracelets and other crafts. Maria was very close to her siblings and was honored to share the responsibility of caring for their mother until their mother's passing.

Maria was known for her crafting hobbies, like making beautiful jewelry, embroidery, quillwork, greeting cards, and sewing projects, just to name a few. She enjoyed sharing all her creative endeavors with everyone. She was very artistic and had an eye for details. Throughout the Covid pandemic, Maria used her sewing skills to spend countless hours sewing masks for family, friends, and the community. She also donated masks to The Navajo Nation.

Maria also loved to travel and took many wonderful trips to visit her extended family in Mexico and Greece. Prior to her passing, she was planning a future trip to Greece with her husband and looked forward to spending time with her family there.

The highlight of her retirement was spending time with her grandchildren. She loved caring for them and took great pride in all their milestones and achievements. Maria took her role as YiaYia very seriously and treasured every precious moment spent with them. Her family was the joy of her life.

Anyone that knew Maria, knew she was strong, kind, supportive, and giving. She always made time for others and was there when you needed her the most. She gave the best advice, and always knew exactly what to do in any situation. She loved to shop and had a great sense of fashion. Those of us who were blessed to be touched by her existence understand the impact she made in our life and will treasure all the beautiful memories we shared with her.

Maria is survived by her devoted husband of 40 years, Dimitrios "The Greek" Diamantoulis, and beloved children, daughter Antonia Founder (Brian), son Xristos Diamantoulis (Maricela), and grandchildren, Athena, Dimitrios, and Giuliana, Siblings Jesus Higuera (Lourdes), Margaret Gallego, Rosella Rosthenhausler (Robert), Ramiro Higuera (Rosita), Angel, Margarita Flores (Albert), Yolanda Rubalcava, Joaquin Higuera, Jorge (Chayito) Higuera, Celida Higuera, Chonita Higuera, and many nieces, nephews, cousins and godchildren.

Maria is preceded in death by her father Ramiro Higuera, mother Librada Higuera, sister in law Connie Higuera, nephew Adrian Higuera, nephew Roland Higuera and her niece Ava Passannanti, who are welcoming her into heaven

Although Maria is gone, the pain in our heart from losing her will never go away. In her honor we ask that you take a moment to hug your loved ones, call a friend, or help someone when you can. Time waits for no one.

Mary, we love you, and we will never forget you, May you rest in peace.