Colleen Marilyn Gonzales

Colleen Marilyn Gonzales passed away on March 14, 2024.  She was born on May 14, 1980, in New Jersey.

She moved to Arizona in 1987 with her family and they settled in Gilbert, AZ.  Colleen graduated from Highland High School in 1998.  She married her husband Francisco “PJ” Gonzales on May 6, 2000.  As they started their life together Colleen worked hard and worked her way up to managing different restaurants and coordinating large weddings and events.  Eventually Colleen gave up working to do the hardest job a person can do, becoming a mother.  Colleen was an amazing wife and mother.  Alexander was born 2002, followed by Aidan in 2006 and Luke in 2009.  She was surrounded and outnumbered by a houseful of boys.  Colleen was an active mother, helping in school, and was president of a Gilbert Mom’s club when the boys were young.  She had a passion for cooking & was a great cook. Her family had the luxury of home cooked meals almost every evening.   Her love of cooking didn’t just stay in her own house.  She would often cook for friends, neighbors and families, as well as host many large family gatherings and holidays.   She often feed the neighborhood kids when they were hanging out at the house.

In 2009 after Luke was born, Colleen had an abdominal surgery that went terribly wrong and caused her to be hospitalized for over a month.  This was followed by more unfortunate injuries to her ankles and numerous other surgeries that really took a toll on her.  She often talked about having more medical procedures before the age of 40 than most people will have in their lifetime.  Unfortunately, in 2018 Colleen was diagnosed with a rare form of Vasculitis and Rheumatoid Arthritis.  This autoimmune disease really took a toll on her and the last few years of her life were spent struggling with the chronic pain and frustration of dealing with a disease that was a mystery to most people.

Despite the struggles she was dealing with she continued to give her boys and her husband everything she could.  She still made meals for friends and family and found a love for sending random gifts to loved ones all over the country. Upon her passing many gifts, some beautifully wrapped gifts were found waiting to be sent out when the time was right.  The gift giving likely gave her more joy than the person receiving it.

Colleen will be remembered as an incredible friend, mother and wife and will be missed immensely.   Colleen is survived by her husband PJ and their 3 sons:  Alex, Aidan and Luke.

Services for Colleen will be April 6^th at 10 am at Gilbert Memorial Park, 2100 E. Queen Creek Rd., Gilbert, AZ.