Geraldine Marie Recla

Geraldine Marie (Miezio) Recla, passed from this Earth to be with her heavenly Father on 19 August 2023 at Montecito Senior Living in Peoria, AZ. She was 101.

The Rosary and Mass will be held at Our Lady of the Sun Catholic Church on 28 August 2023 beginning at 9 am. A break for a light lunch will be held in the church's main social hall after Mass. Internment will follow at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona at 2 pm, where she will be laid to rest with her beloved husband, Alvin.

Born in Chicago, Illinois in 1922, Geraldine lived a long and fruitful life. Her life was shaped by the hard times she and her family endured in the 1920s followed by the untimely death of their father in 1931 then by the Great Depression years of the 1930s. In school, other children would talk about eating chicken which they could not afford, nor she was able to try until her adult years. Her mom would frequent butcher shops for bones to make soup. They were a very poor family, but these hard times laid the foundation for Geraldine and her siblings as close-nit, hardworking, family people who loved the Lord.

In the late 1930s Geraldine started working to help her mom who made a meager wage as a nurse’s aide. During the war years, Geraldine was a volunteer Red Cross worker tending to soldiers that were home recovering from their injuries. After the war, she met the love of her life, Alvin, while traveling by train between Chicago to Milwaukee.

Geraldine moved to Milwaukee, WI in the late 1940s with her now husband Alvin where they raised their family. In the late-1980s they moved to Arizona first living in Sun City before moving to assisted living at Montecito. They were married for 74 years.

She was an active member of the Sun City community serving as a member of the Sun City, Posse for 24 years.  

Geraldine loved the Lord living a life of continual prayer. If she knew you, she would pray for you. She wanted everyone she met in life to be touched by the Lord. Maybe that is why the Lord kept her on this Earth for so long.

She was a member of Our Lady of the Sun Catholic Church, El Mirage, AZ.

Geraldine is survived by her son Wayne of Shawnee, OK, and daughter, Nancy, Sun City, AZ. Also surviving are her granddaughter Amelia, Norman OK, grandson Landry, Oklahoma City, OK, grand daughter-in-law, Kami Recla, Raleigh, NC, great-grandchildren, Austin Recla and Lauren Recla as well as many nephews, nieces, cousins, and friends.

She was predeceased by her parents John Miezio and Lillian Miezio, brother Don, sisters Betty and Lucille, and grandson Benjamin.

Memorial donations would be preferred in lieu of flowers to Our Lady of the Sun Catholic Church, 12546 West Peoria Ave, El Mirage, AZ, 85335.