Elvira Luisa (Lorio) Luna

Elvira Luisa Luna, 91, was born in Puerto Armuelles, Panama on June 15, 1929 and died peacefully at home in Albuquerque on February 13, 2021.

Elvira was raised in a deeply faithful home. She attended Colegio de Nuestra Señora de Los Angeles, David, Panama where she further developed her lifelong, profound and unwavering faith in God, which sustained her with cheerfulness and joy through some of life's most devastating blows.

After graduating from high school as a young teenager, together with her sister she immigrated to the United States for more opportunities. She was the life of the party and the center of laughter, always at the ready to lead in a romantic Spanish bolero, or share a delightful, convoluted, hilarious story.

Elvira was the devoted and beloved wife of Dr. Gilbert C. Luna who she married in 1954. She met him on a New Orleans Mardi Gras float nearly 70 years ago, leaving a wake of heartbroken suitors in a sea of carnival beads. They settled and lived in Los Alamos, NM for 40 years and retired to Albuquerque in 2000.

She was a consummate fashionista and an aficionado of stilettos to give additional height to her diminutive five-foot frame. She loved accessories of all kinds - scarves, purses, hats, jewelry - which completed her unique, colorful and exotic style. In her nineties, as she perfectly painted the nails of her right hand, she said - "my beauty routines are my way of glorifying God." Latina charm, glamour and faith were her essence.

Elvira always wanted to be a mom and becoming a mother to Clarissa and Paul Luna was one of the greatest sources of love, pride and joy of her life. The loss of her children during her lifetime was a deep and shattering grief, but she persevered with dignity and grace thanks to her faith, her daily prayer life and her devotion to Jesus and his Blessed Mother Mary.

If there were Olympics for the best Aunt in the Universe, Tia Elvira would win the Gold Medal by a long shot. Beloved by all her nieces and nephews, Tia Elvira with her husband Gilbert were always there as loving parental back-up. In Tia's eyes, her nieces and nephews were exceptionally special. Not a single day passed without her raising each one individually by name and their family members in prayer.

She is deeply and lovingly missed by her husband Dr. Gilbert Luna, her sister-in-law Kathy Lorio, and all her nieces and nephews, their children and grandchildren. In death, she is greeted by her parents Ignatius and Clara Lorio, her children Paul and Clarissa Luna, all her siblings Clarita Collins, George and Alvaro Lorio, and her in-laws Gillie and Sylvestra Luna, and Roselyn Luna-Baca. A Rosary will be recited on Friday, March 5, 2021 at 9:30a.m. followed by a Mass at 10:00 a.m. Saint John XXIII Catholic Community 4831 Tramway Ridge DR. N.E. Albuquerque, NM 87111.