MARY W. FAGUNDES

Mary W. Fagundes, born September 23, 1952, in Porterville, California, to Antonio Menezes and Querobina Menezes, passed away on July 3, 2026.

Mary grew up in Artesia, California, before later making her home in Tulare, where she started and raised her family. She worked at Tulare Western High School for 39 years, where she became a familiar face and part of the community for generations of students and staff. Above all, Mary was extremely dedicated to her children, and her love for them was at the center of her life.

Mary was kind, loving, and always ready for a good conversation. True to her Libra spirit, she was social, charming, and had a way of making people feel seen and heard. She never met a stranger, adopted everyone as her own, and could strike up a conversation with anyone who would listen — and even a few who maybe didn’t have a choice. She loved flowers, coffee, reading the newspaper, and if it wasn’t the newspaper, it was listening to the news. Mary was also an adventure seeker who loved to pick up and go, especially for a good drive.

In the later years of her life, Mary faced many physical challenges with incredible strength. After suffering a stroke, she lost movement on her right side and her ability to speak. She also endured the loss of both legs. Though her body changed, the love, spirit, and presence that made Mary who she was never left her. Her family finds comfort in knowing that she is now whole again — walking freely, speaking joyfully, and at peace.

She is preceded in death by her mother, Querobina Menezes; her father, Antonio Menezes; her step-mother, Maria Menezes; and her beloved daughter, Savannah Fagundes.

Mary is survived by her children, Charmaine Fagundes, Toby Fagundes, and Roxanne Santos; and her grandchildren, Tyler Fagundes, Jewels Fagundes, Tobias Fagundes, Austyn Santos, and Sutton Santos.

Mary will be deeply missed by her family, friends, and all who had the joy of knowing her. Her family takes comfort in imagining her in heaven, reunited with loved ones, surrounded by flowers, drinking coffee, catching up on the news, talking again, walking freely, and probably enjoying a cigarette again.

A viewing will be held on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., with a Rosary at 6:00 p.m., at Peers Lorentzen Funeral Services. Funeral Mass will be held on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Aloysius Catholic Church. Burial will follow the Mass at North Tulare Public Cemetery.