June 13, 1951 – December 23, 2022

Long time Tahoe City resident and beloved preschool teacher, Cindy Vallejo, passed away December 23, 2022. Cynthia Veronica was born June 13, 1951 to Elfego and Olivia (Castillo) Vallejo in Moses Lake, Washington. As the daughter of an Air Force careered father, the family was always on the move (England, Germany, North Dakota, California). She graduated from Minot High School in North Dakota and later attended San Diego State University majoring in Art and Advertising Design.

Cindy moved to Tahoe in the early 70’s where she started as a ski instructor at Squaw Valley. In addition to her love of skiing, she was also an avid tennis player and earned a Black Belt in karate. She soon discovered her true passion was working with young children and began working at “Children’s House” in TC. She decided to venture out on her own, and opened Vallejo Family Day Care and saw swift success. Students from all walks of life were soon enjoying Cindy’s love of learning and creative inspiration. Many teachers from the local schools brought their young children to Cindy because, in the words of one long time North Tahoe HS teacher, “We know a great teacher when we see one”. It wasn’t long before Cindy started attending graduations as her proteges began heading off to college, where they used many of the lessons they had first learned with Cindy. She kept in touch with many of her students well into their adult lives and was a frequent guest at weddings, baby showers, births, and holiday events of her former students and their parents. One of Cindy’s favorite projects was a Valentine’s Day Silhouette of each student she helped create as a gift for their parents. Long after they entered adulthood, many of these silhouettes still hung in their parents’ home. The loss of a gifted, loving, caring, and vivacious preschool teacher in the Tahoe community will be felt for years, but the hundreds of former students of Cindy Vallejo will remember her and their incredible learning experiences for the rest of their lives.

Cindy is preceded in death by her beloved mother Olivia and survived by her father Elfego, sisters Sylvia and Laurie, and brothers Roland, Victor, and Rene. In her 40+ years of working with preschoolers, Cindy touched the lives of countless children as they discovered many of life’s lessons and experienced the sheer joy of learning under her tutelage. A celebration of life will be held June 3rd at Commons Beach, Tahoe City from 12 to 2. If you plan on attending, please RSVP to Roni Vallejo at 916-396-6796.