Remembering Aurora Combs: 1930-2010

As anyone who knew her could attest, it was fitting that Aurora Combs reached the end of her life’s journey while on the way to Mass. She was defined by her faith and family, the love of her church and community, and a simple desire to make people’s lives better.

Now she’s gone, and Maricopa weeps for its loss.

Aurora Combs, 80, was struck by a car in the early evening Thursday while crossing Honeycutt Road to attend Holy Week services at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church. She was treated at the scene and then transported to a Valley trauma center, but died of her injuries later that night.

Family gathered Friday afternoon in Aurora Combs’ small, comfortable home on Taft Road. Her two daughters, Elvia Rabinor and Roxie Combs, joined by several friends, reminisced about their mother.

“My mom…she was a very, very giving human being,” Roxie said, her eyes welling with tears. “She loved her church, and she loved her children. She was an amazing woman.”

Roxie and Elvia were witness to how their mother touched lives. “She had this ability to heal people, to make them feel good about themselves,” Roxie said.

“She would make food baskets for those who were shut in,” Elvia said. “She would volunteer at the food bank. She would find out from the church if there were people in need of something, and she would help them. She was like this onion, with so many different layers of giving and loving.”

Outside of her church, Roxie said her mother had several passions she indulged. “My mom loved to garden; she loved her grass and trees,” she said. “She was a huge Phoenix Suns fan! At barbecues, we couldn’t get her away from the TV. She wouldn’t miss watching a game.”

And she loved to cook. “She took her tortilla recipe with her,” Roxie said. “I tried for years to get her to give it to me, and she never would.”

“They were so good,” Elvia said. “When we were young, we’d wait for them, our hands spread out, to eat them hot from the oven with some butter.”

Aurora moved her home to Maricopa in 1978…literally. She had lived for more than 20 years in Silver Belt, a small Arizona mining community. When she and her husband decided to relocate to Maricopa, they had the entire house moved.

Lucille Bourguet, who has known the Combs family for more than a half century, was a neighbor in Silver Belt. “Everyone knew everyone in those days,” Bourguet said. “We just lived a few houses down. My mom and Aurora were best friends.”

Aurora was the postmaster for a number of years at the U.S. Post Office in Maricopa. “My mother picked out all the colors for the post office,” Roxie said. “That’s why they’re all pink, though she called in mauve.”

“It’s a very warm, cuddly post office,” Elvia added. “Although she said she was doing the colors in desert tones.”

Eddie Rodriguez, deputy fire marshal at Maricopa Fire Department, has fond memories of Aurora. “I would see her out in front of the post office in the morning, raising the flag,” Rodriquez said. “And as I’d come home at night, there she would be, taking down the flag.”

Over the years, Rodriguez got to know Aurora well. “She was such a great person,” he said. “She never had a bad thing to say about anyone. Aurora didn’t have any enemies. She would do anything for anybody.”

“Aurora was one of the first people I met when I came to Maricopa, and every time I’d see her – whether at church or running into her at the post office or around town – her smile and spirit always brightened my day,” said Scott Bartle, InMaricopa publisher.

Alma Farrell, former Maricopa school superintendent, said Aurora was a great supporter of the community and education. “She was just a great person, a true advocate for the community,” Farrell said. “She would do anything for you, and could always count on her. She will be dearly missed.”

Aurora was also extremely proud of her grandchildren, Roxie said. “And all of them are so successful.” The grandchildren are Lauren-Beth Kassinger, 35, Sarah Combs, 28, Sloan-Taylor Rabinor, 21, and Tyler Combs, 20. Aurora’s youngest son, Bill, passed away three years ago.

“She would give you the shirt off her back,” Roxie said. “If you needed it, she would find a way. That was how she lived.”

Services


Services for Aurora Combs will be held on Tuesday, April 6, at 10 a.m. at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Casa Grande. Lunch will be served after the service. The address is 201 N. Picacho Street.

Photo by Jake Johnson