Mela (Manuela) Duron de Morales was born on June 17th in Valladolid, Jesus Maria, Aguascalientes, Mexico (she was always 15 as she never cared to share her age). She passed away on March 25, 2026, after a seven year battle with Alzheimer’s.
In her early years, Mela managed and operated her family’s grocery store. She also worked at a bakery selling pan dulce in Tijuana. She enjoyed being pampered by her parents and older siblings, as well as the freedom of going into the city to shop, hence she was not in a hurry to get married until her late 20’s. She married the love of her life, Salvador Morales Esparza, and shortly thereafter moved to Mexico City. They then relocated to San Marcos, Fallbrook, and Escondido, California.
She raised her four children and taught them to share her love for God, service to the church, and worked tirelessly to assimilate to her new country. At Felicita Elementary School, she donated her time and delicious food to raise funds for the school and served as the parent- teacher president for a couple of years. Initially at St. Mary’s Church and thereafter at St. Mark’s Church, she helped with the catechism classes and also donated her time with various activities, including cooking food and carnitas for the fundraising fiestas. Every day she managed to wrangle her children to pray the rosary. Meals were always cooked with lots of love and were not limited to Mexican dishes as she watched American shows like Leave it to Beaver, Dallas, and I Love Lucy to serve the same dishes, snacks, and desserts. She claimed she didn’t know how to speak English, but later on in her life, it was discovered she did understand everything her children were saying but cannily kept it to herself.
The sharing of her dishes, time and love was not limited as she became a very strong support system for lots of family members – giving up her own meal to share it with family members that visited her home.
Mela was effervescence that spilled over to everyone that she met. She exuded pure love, fun-loving laughter, and trust. She always had a smile on her face, knew how to turn a messy situation into a good one with her uncanny humor, and was always ready to share a double-entendre joke. The rosaries she prayed were special as only she knew all the old prayers and hymns that sounded like music.
Mela had a green thumb and loved to cultivate roses, hydrangeas, and the biggest calla lilies. Even if she didn’t have the store-bought treatment for her plants, she developed concoctions or cheered them to make them thrive.
Mela loved watching boxing, soccer and most especially enjoyed cheering her children and grandchildren on the sidelines whether at sports or school celebrations.
Mela also enjoyed cooking for her family,
Starbucks lattes, her Mexican cokes, La Flecha (In-n-Out), pan dulce, praying and going to mass, shopping, dressing up, music, dancing, family parties, and any social outings/trips that took her out of the house. Her house was always spotless, even if it meant that she stayed up overnight to make sure that it was sparkling in the morning. Most of all she loved her family and God.
Mela will be sorely missed because every time you were in her presence she made you feel special and somehow managed to steal a smile from you. She loved her family and God above all else – a light has been turned off in this world, but a new one lives on in heaven; as she would say “aqui vives (pointing to her heart) y ni renta pagas.”
Mela is survived by her four children: Norma, Jessica, Ricardo, and Melissa; and her seven grandchildren: Kevin, Sofia, Richie, Maribel, Gema, Ryan and Monica; as well as the host of family and friends that she helped raise, care for, and encourage.
She was preceded in death by the love of her life, Salvador E. Morales and their first daughter Maria.
A memorial service and rosary will be held on Saturday, March 28, 2026, from 1 to 3 PM at the Murrieta Valley Funeral Home located at 24651 Washington Ave., Murrieta.
A funeral mass will be held at 9:30 am on Monday, March 30, 2026 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, located at 1170 S Broadway, Escondido. A light lunch and eulogy will be held immediately thereafter at the adjacent Parish Hall. She will be interned in a private ceremony at the Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside, California – where she will join the love of her life.
The family is asking that you please refrain from sending flowers and instead kindly ask that if you’re so inclined, to please make a donation on behalf of Mela Morales to https://www.alz.org. Blessings.
