Dignitaries and celebrities gathered Monday to say farewell to the first lady of farm workers.
Helen Chavez, the widow of labor leader and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez, was laid to rest Monday next to her late husband in Keene, California, just outside Bakersfield. She was 88.
Cesar Chavez founded the United Farm Workers and began his work for civil rights in San Jose.
Helen Chavez wanted a simple service, surrounded by the very people her late husband fought for - the farm workers. Her body was escorted into a modest chapel in the town of Tehachapi.
Helen Chavez was a quiet woman in public life but a fierce defender of farm workers until the very end.
“We take offense at the notion behind every great man is a great woman," said her son, Paul Chavez. "You see, Helen Chavez never stood behind my father. She stood by his side - many times out in front.”
Helen Chavez gave up a middle-class lifestyle to follow her husband into the fields. Together, she and Cesar fought for human rights under the banner of non-violence. She always left the spotlight for her husband.
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But in 2002, Helen gave a rare interview at the unveiling of the Cesar Chavez postage stamp in San Jose.
"Their struggle was one of justice and sacrifice, and there’s a lot we can learn from what they taught us," grandson Cesar Chavez said.
On Monday, one of her final wishes was honored - to be surrounded by farm workers on her last day and to be laid to rest next to her husband at the Cesar Chavez National Monument.
