Juan Barbosa
Well-known Lakeside realtor Juan Barbosa died suddenly Thursday, May 12 at his San Antonio Tlayacapan home. He succumbed to a life-long heart condition at age 51.
Barbosa was born April 9, 1965, in Vigo, Spain, the son of María del Rosario Gallego and José Manueal Barbosa. His parents remember him as a bright and independent child who stood out for his curious mind and natural talent for sports.
From the age of seven he excelled in judo under the instruction of his father. Although he sometimes balked at keeping up training exercises, his gritty self-determination helped him capture numerous championship titles.
Family and friends qualify Barbosa as a strong-willed individual who marched to his own drummer, invariably managing to accomplish any goal he set for himself.
He taught himself to play guitar and while he couldn’t carry a tune as a singer, he loved to dance in his own distinctive style.
With an outgoing personality and knack for striking up conversation with anyone who crossed his path, he developed strong bonds of friendship with people of diverse social strata.
Barbosa came to Mexico in 1999 to take a job with an uncle who had opened an information technology business in Guadalajara. It was a line of work that enthralled him for the rest of his life. Just a few weeks after his arrival he met Cristina Rojas Vargas, who became his bride ten months later.
The couple settled at lakeside in 2003, taking up management positions at Century 21 Access Mexico, the family business founded by her father Enrique Rojas. She took charge as the company’s broker while he devoted most of his time and knowledge to applying modern technology to the field. He eventually developed a complex computer program designed to track lakeside area market trends by compiling and sharing data among local realtors.
As passionate as he was about his professional life, Barbosa always made time for an active social life with his wide circle of friends. But, first and foremost, he was a devoted family man.
He is survived by his widow and their two children Juan Andrés and Ana Cristi, and mother-in-law Irma Vargas, all of lakeside; his parents, brother José and daughter Nerba Barbosa Barral from his first marriage, all residents of their native Spain.
After his remains were cremated, a three-day series of masses celebrated in his memory took place this week at Chapala’s San Francisco Church.
Patricia Rockwell Stacey
Patricia Rockwell Stacey died after a three-year battle with cancer May 13.
Rockwell was born May 8, 1938 in Mount Vernon, New York to Gertrude Bray and Harold Hilton. She went to Davis High School in Mount Vernon and later attended the Westchester School of Nursing in Valhalla, New York, graduating as a registered nurse. She received a Bachelor of Science (cum laude) in Sociology and Psychology from Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, NewYork, and studied gerontology at Columbia University and received a Master of Education at the University of Vermont, Burlington.
After working in real estate in North Ferrisbourgh, Vermont, she took over the management of an elderly care organization near Burlington, Vermont, where she stayed for 15 years.
She was an avid cross country skier, an ornithologist and enjoyed playing bridge and cribbage.
After a difficult car accident, she retired to Lakeside in 1999, where she met her husband Gordon Alfred Cowan of Toronto at the Bridge Club in Riberas del Pilar. They were married in May 2004.
Rockwell was active in the Garden Club and the Orchid Society and was the box office manager for the Music Appreciation Society for many years.
She is survived by her husband, Gordon, her son Eric Rockwell (Linea), and two step grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held Thursday, June 9, 11 a.m. at Saint Andrew’s Anglican Church in Riberas del Pilar.