Tammy Sue Vega

Tammy Sue (Vicenec) Vega, age 55, passed away unexpectedly on June 4, 2019 in Denver, Colorado in the arms of her loving and devoted husband. She was born to mother Nona Wiggers (Nona Herfurth) in Denver, Colorado on April 25, 1964.

Tammy attended Abraham Lincoln High School in Denver, Colorado and in 1982 she met and fell in love with her husband, Ysidro Vega, II (Jr) after being introduced to each other by Tammy's brother, Todd. Their young love grew stronger and stronger over many years together. Jr was Tammy's rock. He provided her unconditional love and support of which she reciprocated. Tammy could count on him for anything. In her insecurity, Jr was there. In her fear, Jr was there. In her happiness, Jr was there. Their relationship was a model of devotion, support, perseverance and commitment. After 27 years to the day of meeting, Tammy and Jr decided to make their commitment legal and drove to the courthouse in downtown Denver to sign their union into law. It was May 29, 2009 at 12:16pm. Jr, being the gentleman, dropped Tammy off in front of the building while he found a place to park. Tammy, being the cynic, joked that she thought Jr left her there by herself while he took the opportunity to run for his life! They were both so very happy the day they were married. It was a day that was a long time coming. While legally married only 10 years, Tammy and Jr celebrated their 37 years together on May 29, 2019.

Two years after they met, Tammy and Jr had their only child; a beautiful son, Ysidro, III (Sid). Tammy was unable to carry Sid full term due to medical complications. She and Sid were given a 50% chance of survival by her doctors. But through the grace of God, both Tammy and Sid did survive with Sid being born two months premature and spending the first 6 weeks of his life in the intensive care unit. Tammy raised Sid with love and humor. One afternoon when Sid was about 6 years old, he was in the yard kicking a ball. He came into the house frustrated that he could not kick it straight. Tammy quickly had an answer and delivered it with a straight face, ""son, you can't kick it straight because your brain is lopsided."" It took Sid years to learn that in fact his brain was not lopsided and that his mother was only joking that sunny afternoon. It is very likely Tammy unconsciously helped to develop Sid's comedic sense of humor. There was much laughter in the Vega house with Tammy and Sid often being at the center of it all. Tammy's giggle would often progress to an all-out belly laugh when she and Sid got on a comedic roll.

Sid's wedding to his wife, Lei, was one of the happiest days of Tammy's life. Tammy fell in love with Lei early on in their courtship. She first expressed in secret, then more openly her hope that they would marry. Being witness to her son's happiness and then commitment to a wonderful, loving, kind, smart, generous young woman was everything she wished for her son. Sid was Tammy's greatest accomplishment. Her deep love and compassion for others as well as her outpouring of generosity very obviously live on through Sid.

From an early age and more so as she grew older, Tammy was enormously devoted to and a fierce protector of her brother, Todd. She would do anything for him. His successes, his happiness and his safety were her successes, her happiness and her safety. Her heart overflowed with joy when Todd and his wife Cindy moved into a house in Tammy and Jr's neighborhood. The close physical proximity of her brother gave her the opportunity to be with him any time she wanted; she called him any time she wanted; she gave him unsolicited sisterly advice any time she wanted; she loved to talk about how happy being near her brother made her feel. The peace in her heart was real. He was home and she felt complete.

Tammy's love for her mother was among the most beautiful and admirable of all her qualities. Perhaps it was the special bond they established early on in her life as a baby born to a single mother. A life's circumstance that required a mother to hold her daughter close and protect her from community judgement and unfairness. Through their lifelong devotion to each other, their relationship developed into an unbreakable bond of love that carried them through day-to-day living as well as some difficult life events. Tammy's commitment to her mother was evident not in outrageous showy acts for others to see, but in everyday simple but meaningful actions. It was giving of her time and attention to her mother. It was taking the time to make sure her mother's nails were perfectly manicured; it was helping her mother clean out the basement for a garage sale; it was Tammy and Jr taking her to Black Hawk for an evening of gambling; it was taking her mother out to dinner on a typical Wednesday night; it was preparing meals for her mother and Jr delivering them for a service they loved to refer to as, ""Meals on Wheels!"" It was taking her mother to doctors' appointments and picking up prescriptions. Their relationship was not merely that of a close mother and daughter, but rather the relationship of best friends.

Tammy's heart was pure. Never was there a more generous and welcoming spirit. These qualities showed in everything she did. Halloween was the perfect example. First, she and Jr would decorate the house in a display fit for TV news (yes, it appeared both on local and national TV). The attraction even included a karaoke machine with speakers Jr would use to speak to (and spook!) the hundreds of visitors that would flock to their house for treats. Tammy would purchase boat loads of candy, popcorn and pretzels to be sure all her guests received a snack. She could not imagine the horror of running out of Halloween treats. She had a reputation to uphold and she came through year after year with pride and an enormous amount of joy. Halloween was her thing. She loved it. She loved all of it. But mostly, she loved giving to others. Giving in the sense of putting on a show of decorations and lights for all to enjoy and giving in the sense of physically giving treats to others. Later in the morning on the day of his mother's passing and in the middle of his pain and heartbreak, Sid remarked, ""I just want to put on a Halloween costume. Mom loved Halloween.""

Then there was Christmas. Tammy loved Christmas with the same over-the-top enthusiasm of a Christmas angel anxiously awaiting to lavish her special gifts on the world. She would start listening to Christmas music in July and would not stop listening to it until April. Her Christmas tree and decorations would go up the day after Halloween and stay up until the end of January. And the homemade baking would begin as soon as she stocked her kitchen with flour, sugar, butter, marshmallows, coconut and chocolate chips. Her sweets were among the best ever prepared by anyone. They were better than most desserts you could order at the fanciest bakery. Tammy would spend weeks preparing her baked goods, making sure they were cut into perfectly squared portions and arranged symmetrically, none out of place, on decorative paper or plastic plates, wrapped in red or green grippy plastic wrap. This was no game. She took her baking seriously. Her homemade treats were perfect and they were delicious to the point you would crave them for the rest of the year. But her favorite part of baking was sharing with others. She could not wait to send Jr out to deliver her baked goods to all her friends, family and coworkers. Her actions were beyond generous. They were self-sacrificing. But she only saw it as a way to make others happy. Her heart was made of gold. Or maybe it was made of sugar and spices!

What else did Tammy throw her heart into? Love for her pets. She started out as a cat person, as her mother always seemed to have a cat around the house during her years growing up. Once in their own house, Tammy and Jr treated their own cats like children, cradling them in their arms like infants. Their cats loved it and would stay cuddled up for hours. There was Baby, Big Kitty, Panda and Sammy. All loved as much as the other.

To everyone's surprise, about 10 years ago Tammy fell in love with a little pug dog at the pet store. After a lengthy negotiation with the store owner, she and Jr brought the little girl home and named her Gigglez. They loved Gigglez like the little girl they never had. They dressed her up for Halloween in the funniest outfits you've ever seen. There were the bunny ears, the swimsuit, and the pink tutu. Tammy loved to show off her little Pug to her Facebook friends and visitors who came to the house. Tammy's most recent addition to the family was Dolly, a cute little mix who keeps Gigglez company.

Tammy worked many jobs during her lifetime starting as a teenager at the Bear Valley Pet Store. Navigating the narrow aisles of fish tanks could be a challenge. But it was no more challenging than she faced trying to scoop up jittery crickets while attempting to put them into small plastic bags before they escaped, jumping all over the store. She worked at a donut shop, a Waffle House restaurant and Strictly Nails salon. Tammy's last job was an associate at Home Depot where she often was the region's super-star performer.

Tammy is survived by her loving husband, Jr along with her son Sid and his wife Lei. She is also survived by her mother, Nona, her brother Todd and his wife Cindy. Lastly, she is survived by aunts, uncles, countless cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.

Tammy's earthly journey is complete. She is now at peace and surrounded by love among God's angels. We are honored to have been a part of her life.