Antonia “Toni” Olveda passed away in the evening on November 29th, 2025 following a short week on hospice. Known to most in her family as Nana (NAH-nah), she left this world peacefully, and on her own terms, from her home in Garden Grove, California after 98 years of life.

Toni was the second child born to Maria (Ruiz) and Bernardo Santos on May 25th, 1927 in San Antonio, Texas. Her older brother Apolonio “Pole” was born in 1925, and Toni was followed by two younger sisters, Petra in 1929 and Alicia in 1931, who died in infancy. Following the passing of her father in 1931 and her mother a decade later in 1941, Toni was raised by her grandmother Guadalupe Ruiz.

She married her late husband George Olveda on February 18th, 1947, and they enjoyed 66 years together before his passing in 2014. The couple had five children- three girls, then two boys. Yolanda “Yogi” Hawkins (Mark) is the eldest, followed by Dolores Cobleigh (Ernie), Mary Gonzales, George Olveda (Joan), and their youngest child, Larry Olveda (Debra “Debby”).

Thanks to her husband’s career in the military, she lived many places, including France and New Jersey, before settling in California in 1965. Though she moved far from her home in Texas, she never forgot about her roots and family in San Antonio and was blessed with many opportunities to reunite with loved ones there.

Toni had several careers of her own over her life, her most notable at Long Beach Memorial Hospital as a pediatric nurse’s aide and Spanish interpreter, renowned for how she helped premature babies thrive. Through that role she cultivated several long-lasting relationships, including with Lynne Sorum, who remains close family.

She was undeniably expert at making children feel safe and loved, spending much of her 60s and 70s caring for grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was a great lover of fun, known for the parties she and George threw- including several vow renewals! Her drink of choice was a vodka collins, closely followed by a margarita. She hated to lose, and her sharp wit suited her well in endless games of rummikube. Nothing quickened her feet more than a casino floor, except maybe mariachi music.

She is preceded in death by her husband, siblings, sons-in-law William “Clyde” Crozier and Donald Hawkins Sr., and grandson Charles “Charlie” Cobleigh. She was greeted into the next life by her son-in-law Charles “Ernie” Cobleigh, who died earlier in the day on the 29th.

Her important role as family matriarch continues in the lives she stewarded. She is survived by her children, to whom she was their hero. She is also survived by her grandchildren: Theresa Anderson (Marten); Marcus and Michael Gonzales (Ashley); Donald “Donnie” Hawkins Jr. (Diane); Steven Olveda (Alyssa) and Stacie Marchetti (Scott); Elizabeth Reinsdorf (Dylan), and Brian Olveda (Brittany) and George Olveda (Rocio). Her great-grandchildren are Ryan (Philip Sieverding), Brandon and Jillian Cobleigh; Holli Safran (Tylor) and Haleigh Anderson-Alt (Katie); Selena Olveda; Precious, Fernando “Ferni”, Andres “Andy”, and Alejando “Alex” Hawkins; Logan and Lainie Marchetti, Mason and Jackson Gonzales; Olivia and Miles Reinsdorf; Theodore, Nicholas, and Harrison Olveda; and Shelby and Gabriel “Gabe” Olveda.

On Sunday, December 14th there will be a viewing for Toni from 10:00-11:00 AM, followed by a service at McKenzie Mortuary at 3843 E. Anaheim Street, Long Beach, CA. In addition, there will be a joint celebration of life for Toni and Ernie at the American Legion (Post 716) at 3252 Florista Street in Los Alamitos, CA from 1 – 4 PM. 

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