On Wednesday, October 13, 2021, Maria Elena Fain, loving daughter, wife, sister, aunt, and friend, passed away at the age of 80 in Ashland, Oregon. Maria Elena was born June 26, 1941, in Fresnillo Zacatecas, Mexico.
During her teenage years, her family moved to Mexicali, Baja California, where she worked as a seamstress. In 1974, Maria Elena came up to Crescent City to visit her sister Tirsa Croy, and met Jack L. Fain. They fell in love and married on January 17, 1975. She continued her work as a seamstress at home, making beautiful wedding and quinceañera dresses, amongst other clothing.
Maria Elena was known for her kindness and love for everyone. She was very close to her nieces, Maria del Carmen, Tirsa Gabriela, and Carla Susana; she loved them as if they were her own children. Maria Elena enjoyed cooking and hosting family gatherings for birthdays and holidays, listening to music and being surrounded by her family and friends.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Jack L. Fain, her father, Francisco Fong Guien, her mother, Carmen Ortega Fong, her brothers, Saul Gomez and Gilberto Fong, her sisters, Carmen Montaño, and Angelina Fong. Her memory will live on through her sister, Tirsa J. Croy, her nieces, M. Carmen Fong-Chavez, Tirsa Gabriela Fong, Carla Susana Perez, and other numerous nieces and nephews.
Memorial Mass will be held at St. Joseph Catholic Church on Friday, November 12, 2021, at 1:00 pm. Committal services will follow at the Del Norte Veteran’s Cemetery.