At 106, Manuela “Dolly” Diaz lived to beryllium 1 of Clark County’s oldest residents. And she did it with a grin connected her face, her loved ones said.
“She was specified a blessed person, and I deliberation that was the cardinal to her longevity,” granddaughter Tracy Bias said. “She was precise steadfast and she loved to unrecorded life.”
Diaz, of Las Vegas, died from complications of pneumonia connected Aug. 18, according to Bias, 58, and her sister Carleena Shumway, 62, who spoke astir their precocious grandma successful an interrogation Thursday.
Bias, of Magnolia, Texas, spoke by telephone portion the Las Vegas Review-Journal interviewed Shumway astatine her Las Vegas home. Their mother, Rebecca Morgan, 83, Diaz’s daughter, besides was present.
To the sisters’ knowledge, Diaz was the lone household subordinate to person reached 106, though different relatives lived into their 90s and different 1 reached 100. Bias said records recovered connected a genealogical website indicated Diaz mightiness person been the oldest pistillate successful Clark County astatine the clip of her death.
Whether oregon not that was existent is unclear. Clark County spokeswoman Stephanie Wheatley said she was unsure whether the region had a mode of tracking its oldest residents.
The Nevada Office of Vital Statistics, portion of the Division of Public and Behavioral Health, did not instantly respond to an enquiry seeking confirmation arsenic to whether Diaz was Nevada’s oldest nonmigratory erstwhile she died.
Roots successful Nevada
Diaz was calved June 16, 1920, connected what is present the Fort Yuma-Quechan Reservation successful confederate Arizona, Bias said. Diaz came to Nevada arsenic an babe aft her begetter moved the household to Tonopah for a mining job.
Although Diaz spent parts of her beingness surviving elsewhere, she lived successful Las Vegas for the bulk of her years, Bias said.
Bias said Diaz attended what is present the Historic Fifth Street School successful downtown Las Vegas and graduated precocious schoolhouse from the Sherman Institute, a boarding schoolhouse for Native Americans successful Riverside, California, astir 55 miles eastbound of Los Angeles.
While Native American boarding schools were traumatic and abusive for galore students, Shumway and Bias said their grandma spoke of Sherman with unthinkable fondness.
“My parent would telephone it whitewashing, but (Diaz) loved that she got to sew and did the location ec and to cook,” Bias said. “She fondly, fondly, fondly talked astir that schoolhouse each our lives.”
Diaz joined Marcos Medina successful 1941 aft a two-week courtship. Medina served arsenic an airman successful World War II and stayed successful the subject and worked astatine bases crossed the United States aft the war.
Medina died successful 1970, but the equipped forces remained a beingness successful Diaz’s life, Bias and Shumway said. Diaz served arsenic president of a Las Vegas Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary station successful the 1970s and 1980s.
In 1943, Diaz gave commencement to Morgan, Bias and Shumway’s mother, astatine a infirmary astatine what is present Nellis Air Force Base, past called Las Vegas Army Airfield, wherever Medina was stationed.
After her husband’s death, Diaz worked for decades astatine the Run-In Chef, a cafeteria-style grill astatine Nellis Air Force Base. The edifice became a Burger King soon aft Diaz retired successful the 1990s, Shumway said.
‘She would creation each nighttime long’
Bias remembers going dancing with Diaz astatine the Guadalajara Jalisco creation hallway successful North Las Vegas and rowdier venues, specified arsenic the Shark Club and Tramps.
Nights dancing with her grandma would statesman late, Bias said, typically astir 11 p.m., and agelong agelong into the morning.
“She would creation each nighttime long,” Bias said of Diaz. “We would get retired astatine 8 o’clock successful the greeting and spell to devour meal aft she danced. And this pistillate was dancing with america until she was 70 years old.”
Diaz besides enjoyed cruising with a CB radio, teasing motortruck drivers and announcing her accomplishment astatine her grandchildren’s schools with large euphony playing done a speaker.
“She thought she was going to embarrass us, but we really got a footwear retired of it,” Shumway said. “And each of our friends did, too.”
At home, Diaz enjoyed cooking meals from scratch, making homemade tortillas and squeezing caller orangish juice. After she moved successful with Shumway successful 2020, she was known for softly lifting loved ones’ hands to her lips, kissing them and telling them she loved them.
Bias said Diaz was besides a large storyteller.
“I’d beryllium adjacent to her successful the small treble recliners,” Shumway said, “and we’d conscionable clasp hands and either ticker TV oregon enactment euphony on. She loved Freddie Fender.”
Diaz’s beingness besides intersected with respective eras of Las Vegas history, Shumway said. Diaz saw Elvis Presley execute successful Las Vegas, portion her sister was a Caesars Palace “goddess” oregon cocktail waitress.
Diaz was besides a well-versed traveler, according to her granddaughters. In her 90s, Diaz went to Europe — visiting Ireland, Spain and Italy — and besides to Africa.
Funeral services planned
Shumway and Bias said they are expecting a ample turnout for their grandmother’s funeral, which volition instrumentality spot astatine 11 a.m. Wednesday astatine St. Frances de Sales Catholic Church, 1111 N. Michael Way. The burial volition beryllium held astatine Palm Mortuary-Downtown.
Diaz had 5 children, 14 grandchildren and dozens of large and great-great grandchildren, galore of whom volition beryllium traveling from crossed the U.S. and adjacent arsenic acold arsenic Canada successful the coming days.
Shumway said the nonaccomplishment of her grandma has been heartbreaking, but she is thankful to person had specified an influential matriarch successful her life.
“It’s not a bittersweet ending,” Shumway said. “It’s conscionable her beingness physically won’t beryllium there.”
Contact Casey Harrison astatine charrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Casey_Harrison1 connected X.
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