Pamela Ann Guevara

Pamela “Pam” Ann (Cena) Guevara was born on August 21, 1949 in Los Angeles, California and passed away on September 16, 2012 at her home in Grants Pass, Oregon following a four-month battle with brain cancer.

Pam attended Western High School where she was on the dance team and enjoyed growing up in the orange orchards of Los Alamitos close to Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm. Her higher education began at Humboldt State University until she met her future husband while working a summer job for the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation. She then transferred to the California State University at Long Beach and graduated in 1973 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography and an elementary school teaching certificate.

Pam was married to Danny (Dan) Guevara on August 15, 1971 on the USS Princess Louise – which later sank in San Pedro,CA. Family and friends often laughed about the fact that the marriage outlasted the marriage venue! They were married for 41 years and left a legacy of enduring love and two wonderful children, Kimberly and Bryan, both born in San Diego, CA and they lived in Lakeside, CA. for 4 years. Pam gave up her teaching career to raise her two children until Kimberly started school. Soon thereafter Pam and Dan made the decision to move out of California and relocated their family to Grants Pass in 1979 where they lived for 33 years. Pam taught for nearly 30 years, 23 of which were with the Three Rivers School District. 18 of those years were at Jerome Prairie Elementary School alongside a close knit group of long-term friends and colleagues. She retired in 2008, but loved to teach so was often found in the classroom as a substitute through 2012. She also volunteered, until her passing, for the SMART Reading Program, where she was able to continue her passion for teaching children to read.

Pam cherished family and friends – and that above all else, along with teaching, defined her. She enjoyed traveling to far-off parts of the world with her husband, family and friends. She especially loved going to the University of Oregon football games to cheer on the Ducks long after her daughter graduated. She loved her 1 year old granddaughter, Katelyn, and 1-month old sister, Khloe, born July 17, 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia who she was unable to meet due to her untimely illness and death. She tried valiantly to outlast her disease in order to meet Khloe and her soon-to-be-born granddaughter, Mira Ann Guevara-Harris from San Diego, CA, due to arrive around December 28th.

Her social circle grew exponentially as time passed and new people came into her life. Wherever she went she made close and lasting friendships. Her love for teaching children, particularly those who needed extra help, was well known throughout the community. She worked long hours and often dressed up according to the “units” she was teaching and for holidays in order to reinforce moments in history to her students. It was very common for prior students to approach her in the grocery store, movie theatre, or other places in the community eager to introduce their own children to their “favorite teacher”, Mrs. Guevara. One student proclaimed her decision to become a teacher was because of the influence of “Mrs. Guevara”.

Pam is survived by her husband Dan, daughter Kimberly Ann (Dale) Guevara-Harris, son Bryan Daniel (Ashley) Guevara, granddaughters Katelyn Charlotte and Khloe Ann Guevara, sister Patricia Ann (Tesa) Hankins, brother Peter Cena, mother Pauline Cena, and hundreds of nieces, nephews, cousins and extended family. She was preceded in death by her father Peter Cena.

A Celebration of Life will be held. For more information, please contact Hull & Hull Funeral Directors at (541) 476-4453.

In lieu of flowers or cards, the family suggests tax deductable donations be made to the SMART Reading Program, a nonprofit organizationshe was passionate about. Donations should be sent to SMART, 670 Superior Ct., Suite 108, Medford, OR. 97504, and include a memo that states “In Memory of Pam Guevara for Three Rivers School District”.

The family also asks that those wishing to share special memories and/or photos about Pam use the following website: www.since1928hull.com and click on the link for “Pam Guevara”.

It has been written that “In the end what matters most is: How well did you love; How well did you live; How well did you learn to let go”. By these measures, Pam had a great life and her legacy of love, joy in living, compassion and servant's heart will live on forever in all of us.