Maria Guadalupe Mendoza-Diaz, 52, of Huntersville, N.C., and previously of Mooresville, N.C., passed away on October 18, 2021, from complications of COVID-19. She was born on December 12, 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico, to Angela Diaz and the late Guillermo Mendoza.

Maria was a wonderful and caring mom who enjoyed every moment spent with her daughter. She was an extraordinary woman in many ways. Maria graduated from Mexico City University, where she served as an Assistant Professor. She was awarded a scholarship to attend Brown University, where she earned her master’s degree. Maria was an advocate for education. She worked for Wells Fargo Bank for almost 20 years. She was an avid runner who participated in the Boston and New York City marathons. She was a strong-willed woman who battled breast cancer and was a survivor. Maria was a woman who always put others first and was very generous and giving. She loved her family and will be greatly missed.

She is survived by her husband, Steven Paxton; mother, Angelina Diaz; daughter, Isabel Paxton; stepson, Joshua Paxton; siblings, Guillermo Mendoza-Diaz, Laura Mendoza-Diaz, Javier Mendoza-Diaz, Susana Mendoza-Diaz, Dora Mendoza-Diaz, and Fernando (Pepe) Mendoza-Diaz; father-in-law and mother-in-law, Charlie and Pat Paxton; brothers-in-law, Chad and Beau Paxton.

A visitation will be held on Friday, October 22, 2021, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Cavin-Cook Funeral Home & Crematory, Mooresville, N.C. A funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, October 23, 2021, at 1 p.m. at St. Therese Catholic Church, Mooresville, N.C. Burial will follow at Northlake Memorial Gardens, Huntersville, N.C.

The broadcast can be accessed live at https://www.sainttherese.net/mass-livestream. Viewers should scroll down the page and click the arrow in the center of the StreamSpot viewer to start watching the stream. (It will say “Live” in the upper left corner beginning at 10:57 a.m.)

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to St. Therese Catholic Church, 217 Brawley School Road, Mooresville, NC 28117; St. Mark Catholic Church, 14740 Stumptown Road, Huntersville, NC 28078 or The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, 28 West 44th Street, Suite 609, New York, NY 10036

Cavin-Cook Funeral Home & Crematory, Mooresville, is serving the Mendoza-Diaz family. Condolences may be made to the family at www.cavin-cook.com.