Diaz, Consuelo (“Chelo”), age 95 of Salina, died on Saturday, March 12, 2022, after a brief illness. She was born in Havana, Cuba on December 27, 1926, and lived there until 1961 when she emigrated with her family to the United States after the Cuban revolution.

Settling in Kansas City with relatives and speaking little English, she was able to complete her bachelor’s degree in languages at the University of Missouri in 1965. She then moved to Lawrence, Kansas the same year to pursue a master’s in Spanish studies at the University of Kansas.

In 1968, Chelo and her two children moved to Salina, where she began teaching languages and literature at Kansas Wesleyan. Her career there spanned three decades – she was still in the classroom at age 80! She reveled in teaching and was loved by her many students who looked in on her over the years.

Besides her children, her passions were languages, classical music, and chocolate. An accomplished pianist, she played the piano nearly every day for most of her life.

Her greatest achievement was raising two children successfully alone in a foreign country after leaving Cuba with nothing more than the clothes on their backs.

She is survived by her son Mike Diaz and wife, Kim of Salina, and her daughter Sylvia D’Angelo and husband Jim of Minneapolis, MN., and several nieces and nephews.

Chelo was preceded in death by her husband, Otto Diaz, her father, Santiago Coca, her mother Rosa Garganta de Choca and siblings, Maria Dolores, Rosita, Margarita, Santiago, Ramon, and Maria.

The family would like to thank the staff of Reflections Home Plus and Legacy at Salina.

Private services will be held for family only.

Donations may be made in her name to Kansas Wesleyan University or to The Land Institute, both of Salina, Kansas.