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Maryvale Panthers,

Phoenix Arizona

In MEMORIAM 1995

  Class of 1995:

RUBEN CHALUP, JR. Born: 1977 Died: 1994 In 1992-93 and 1993-94, Ruben's sophomore and junior class years, he was a member of the International Club. Ruben's brother is Gabriel Chalup, MHS; 1995, and his sister is Lupe Chalup, MHS; 2004. Ruben is included in the "In Memoriam" in the MHS 1995 yearbook on page # 184. Interment at Holy Cross Cemetery, in the "St. Louis the King" (SLK) section, on the Southwest side of the cemetery.
CARL "Crit/Critter" THOMAS Born: in Detroit, Michigan. Died: 09-13-2004, in Baghdad, Iraq; Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Defense Department reported that U.S.Army Sgt. Carl Thomas 29, of Phoenix, Arizona died in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised/homemade explosive device detonated near his Army observation post in Baghdad. The blast killed other soldiers, the Pentagon said without specifying the death toll. Thomas, an 8 year Army Veteran, was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. He & wife Lanea 27 (also a MHS Alumni 1995), had 3 children; Dariaun, Nataisha & Rayqwaun. They lived in Phoenix, AZ. before Thomas’s assignment to Fort Hood, TX. "He was very outgoing, quietly spoken, very much a peacemaker," Lanea said when reached in Texas. "He was a very good leader, & a really good father. His father lives in Glendale, AZ. The day before his death, mother Alfeeria Johnson of Inkster, Michigan sat at her computer for a weekly e-mail chat with her son. They talked about how much they looked forward to seeing each other in a few weeks & made plans to celebrate with a barbecue. “He sounded OK, & he told me to wait on making my flight arrangements,” Johnson told the Detroit Free Press. “He was supposed to be home October.” Family members had plans to meet in Texas in about a month, when Thomas returned from Iraq. “He was an easygoing person. It was hard for him to get mad,” Johnson said, glancing at a picture of her son. “He loved basketball, wrestling & video games. He really loved his kids. He was a normal kid.” Thomas loved spending time with his family. Thomas was born in Detroit & attended elementary & middle schools in Detroit, Southfield & Oak Park, Michigan. He completed the ninth & 10th grades at Robichaud Senior/Junior High School in Dearborn Heights before moving to Phoenix to live with his father. He graduated from Maryvale High School in Phoenix, AZ. in 1995. After high school, Thomas worked various jobs before enlisting in the Army. He married on his 23rd birthday. Carl's wife, Lanea Thomas’ grandmother, Arlene Mitchell, recalled hosting the couples wedding reception at her Glendale, Ariz., home. “I know they loved each other,” said Mitchell. “He was very shy, he didn’t talk that much. But everybody liked him.” The family spent last Christmas together, & Mitchell remembers how much Thomas enjoyed the meal she helped prepare. “He loved chitlins, cabbage & cornbread,” she said. “He liked good soul food.” A family visitation was 09-24-2004 at New Birth Baptist Church in Inkster, Michigan, followed by his funeral & burial in Michigan, where he was born.
ELMA GUZMAN Born: approx. 1977 Died: 03-23-2008, at 30 years of age, in Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona An Arizona Republic Newspaper article, dated 03/25/2008, Easter Sunday, title of article "Mom of 3 recovering from fire." The article states: "A woman is recovering from burns she received in a west Phoenix house fire that killed two people early on Easter. The mother of three suffered severe respiratory burns as well as burns on 8 percent of her body, said Mark Faulkner, a spokesman for the Phoenix Fire Department. Elma Guzman, 30, and a 33-year-old man identified only as Atilano died in the fire. Authorities say many factors combined to increase the deadliness of the fire." Funeral Mass for Elma was Thursday, 03/27/2008, at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Parish, 3140 North 51st Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona 85031, followed by Christian burial at Holy Cross Cemetery, 10045 West Thomas Road, Avondale, Arizona 85323. Gravesite location is: Section Stations of the Cross (SOC), Plot 131, Row 1, Space 6. Abel Funeral Services handled the arrangements.

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