Carol Ann Wheeler
Longtime Guadalajara resident Carol Ann Wheeler died May 24 after a prolonged illness following a fall, and complications from Covid.
Carol was born on December 22, 1949 in Reno, Nevada. She spent her early childhood in Ohio before moving to Punta Gorda in Charlotte County, Florida, where she attended high school. She graduated from New College in Sarasota, Florida with a degree in anthropology.
Carol came to the Yucatan in the mid 1970s to work on her thesis on Mayan culture, and began writing for a tourism magazine there.
Later in that decade she moved to Guadalajara, where she produced her own TravelMex newsletter and another publication focused on tourism.
She met Dr. Sergio Esparza while living in Colonia Chapalita. They were married in 1987, and had two sons, Sergio and Daniel.
In the late 1990s, Carol came on board at the Guadalajara Reporter, taking on various roles in the editorial and production department. A committed team player, Carol contributed with her vast knowledge of Mexico and its culture, as well as her fluency in Spanish. The Reporter’s publishers recall her time with the business as a happy one, with Carol’s effervescent character and work ethic in tune with the paper’s often hectic deadlines.
After leaving the Reporter, Carol continued to work with Dave McLauglin at Mexconnect, one of the internet’s earliest content-rich sites dedicated to a single country.
She then worked for information website Navica.com prior to 9/11, later rejoining the company and staying with them for almost 20 years up until her passing.
Carol was active at St. Mark’s Anglican Church in Guadalajara as a member of the vestry. She was part of the group that interviewed current vicar Pamela Hosey Long last summer, and although she was not ambulatory after her fall in late November 2022, she continued to be in contact with the vestry up through the last week of her life, the vicar said.
Carol was also involved in Mexpat Guadalajara, an organization made up of members of the foreign community living in Guadalajara to serve as a cultural support group and for business and social networking.
Carol leaves behind many friends and acquaintances who will remember her with much fondness.
She is survived by her sons to whom she was devoted, Sergio in Guadalajara and Daniel in San Diego, California; brother Stan, and his son John, in Jacksonville, North Carolina; and nephew Jason Letson in Punta Gorda, Florida.
A funeral service was held at St. Mark’s on Sunday, May 28.
Elaine Jo McCoy Giamona
Elaine Jo McCoy Giamona died on April 25 at Casa Nostra care home after a long and courageous battle with cancer.
Born in Eugene, Oregon on February 24, 1947 to Colonel Leonard McCoy and Evelyn Busuttil McCoy, Elaine was the oldest of five children. They traveled the world as a military family, and Elaine developed a love for different cultures and people. As the family was facing difficulties due to the physical challenges of her younger sister, Elaine gained deep empathy and compassion for the day-to-day challenges of ordinary people.
When the family returned to the United States around 1961, they settled on the Monterey peninsula in California. Elaine started high school at Junipero Memorial High School Monterey, where she met future husband Bart Giamona. After high school she attended Monterey Peninsula College. Bart and Elaine married in 1966. In 1968 their daughter Marcelle was born.
When the marriage dissolved, Elaine moved with Marcelle to Redwood City in the San Francisco Bay Area. She started to work for law firms and completed one year of law studies in San Francisco Law School. This era marked the beginning of Elaine’s passionate interest in world and domestic politics and social justice.
Besides being an advocate for the homeless and the elderly, she became an activist for veterans’ care. Her time was spent drafting letters to key people for many important causes. She remained involved in social causes throughout her life. While in the Bay Area she worked as personal assistant to Virginia Satir, the famous family therapy pioneer. This job affected Elaine’s outlook and spiritual values greatly, and she strove to live by the wisdom of Satir. At the beginning of the 1980s Elaine moved to Boston and became the personal assistant to another famous person, businessman and philanthropist Sheldon Adelson. Later, she moved back to Monterey County and resided in Pacific Grove with her daughter Marcelle, finding employment using her paralegal skills.
In the early 2000s, Elaine’s final move within California took her to the Sacramento area. In another career change, she got her real estate license and began buying and selling properties. She also worked as a property manager for several clients, first with a major Sacramento property management firm, and then in her own brokerage, McCoy Real Estate.
In 2005, Elaine became friends with Alysia Giffin in a group from the local church. Within months, they both helped to charter a brand-new Soroptimist club chapter (a worldwide women’s service organization) in Lincoln, California, which is now 18 years old and still going strong.
In August 2013, Elaine took a month to explore Ajijic and, falling in love with Lakeside and Mexico, made the permanent move there in March 2014.
Elena, as she liked to be called in Mexico, got exactly what she was looking for—an enriching and adventurous life. She dove into the Ajijic experience right away. She was a welcome presence at Diane Pearl’s gallery in downtown Ajijic. She joined the Lake Chapala Society program to teach English to local adults, and volunteered with groups working to improve the quality of life in impoverished local villages. With her political and organizational skills, Elaine helped organize the successful Ajijic Women’s March in January 2016.
Elaine is survived by her daughter, Marcelle Giamona Ciampi, and three grandsons: Derrick, Andrew, and Brandon Ciampi. Her friends greatly appreciate all the kind care she received at the Casa Nostra care home.
The world is a little sadder without Elaine’s laughter and compassion for others. A celebration of her life will be held later this summer.
Regis (Reggie) Soileau
Regis (Reggie) Soileau died May 24 in Guadalajara. He was 82 years old.
Born on December 25, 1940, Reggie grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana, where he graduated from the University of Louisiana Lafayette campus. His father owned a furniture store in his hometown and Reggie became a furniture salesman. He traveled some 100,000 miles per year throughout the south, selling to independent furniture stores for Thomasville Furniture company. In the 1980s he moved to Miami, Florida and got into sales of satellite TV, working for a TEECOM, a Canadian company.
With his first wife, Wanda, Reggie fathered two children, Daniel (Lafayette) and Judith Soileau (Boulder City, Nevada).
He met his second wife, Maria Camacho, on a business trip to Guadalajara. They married in Louisiana in June 1986, living there for a couple of years before moving to Miami.
In 2002, the couple moved back to Guadalajara where Reggie became a fixture at the American Society of Jalisco (AMSOC). He was on the board of directors (the last few years as a member emeritus) until he passed away. He could always be found at the weekly Thursday luncheons, as well as any holiday celebrations, holding court with a group of older gentlemen seated around the main desk. He was quick with a joke and had an easy going, self-depreciating humorous side, appreciated by all.
Reggie’s hobbies were simple: reading, going out to eat, traveling and enjoying the conversation at AMSOC.
His wife Maria said she will remember him as a good man and husband.
He is survived by his wife; his son and daughter; brothers Michael (Washington, Louisiana), Jerry (Lafayette), and Toby (Fruitland Park, Florida); grandchildren Terese, Colette, Christine, Christopher and Ryan, and four great grandchildren.