Amelia Cuevas

Amelia Cuevas, 97, of Pampa, passed away on Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Pampa.

Memorial services will be 2:00 PM Thursday, March 20, 2025, at First Methodist Church of Pampa, with Rev. Jared Neal, pastor, officiating. A private family burial will be at Fairview under the direction of Carmichael-Whatley Funeral Directors and Crematory.

Amelia was born December 16, 1927, in Antón, Panama, to Pastor and Igenia Sanchez. She was raised in Anton. At the age of 17 she moved to the Panama Canal Zone with family, including her cousin/best friend, Dora Isabel Fortune, whose husband was in the U.S. Army and stationed at Ft. Kobbe in the Canal Zone. While there, she spent many hours washing and ironing clothes for U.S. military families at Ft. Kobbe, which later became Howard Air Force Base. In 1973, she moved with family to Landrum, South Carolina. While in South Carolina, she became a naturalized US citizen, for which she worked very hard and was so proud to be a United States citizen. She took her citizenship very seriously. She and her family moved to San Antonio in 1981, and lived there until 2015, when she moved to Pampa.

Amelia attended the First Methodist Church with her daughter, Gladys. She was very talented at crocheting and made numerous afghans and a beautiful tablecloth for Gladys. She also enjoyed doing ceramics and could spend hours doing word searches. Amelia was a very intelligent and caring person who loved her family dearly. She was strong-willed and often very direct with her words. You did not have to wonder what she was thinking.

She was preceded in death by her parents; and two brothers, Rolando Sanchez and Pedro Sanchez.

Survivors include her daughter, Gladys Vanderpool and husband, Judge Phil Vanderpool, of Pampa; sister, Argelia Vargas of Antón, Panama; two grandsons, Stephen Vanderpool of Loraine and Keith Vanderpool of Amarillo; and a great grandson, Lincoln Harrison Vanderpool.

The family would like to thank Coronado Healthcare and all its people for the continuous loving care and support given Amelia over the last few years and Interim Hospice and their loving care and support for Amelia.

Memorials can be sent to First Methodist Church of Pampa, 200 E. Foster, Pampa, Texas 79065.