Coconino County approves proclamation ‘Celebrating and Honoring the Life of Dr. Miguel Vasquez’

Celebration of Life for Professor Emeritus Miguel Vasquez to be held on Nov. 3 at NAU

By AmigosNAZ.com

FLAGSTAFF — The Coconino County Board of Supervisors officially approved a proclamation on Oct. 15, 2024 “Celebrating and Honoring the Life of Dr. Miguel Vasquez,” who passed away on Sunday, Oct. 6.

“WHEREAS, Coconino County and the communities within lost a cultural leader, mentor, and teacher on October 6, 2024 with the passing of Dr. Miguel Vasquez …” according to the opening of the proclamation read by the brother of Miguel Vasquez, David Vasquez.

According to a biography on the Coconino Hispanic Advisory Council (CHAC) website…

Vasquez Ph.D, Professor of Anthropology (Emeritus) Northern Arizona, was a founding member of the Coconino Hispanic Advisory Council (CHAC).

A native of San Francisco, he recently retired as an applied anthropologist who worked with Latino, Mayan, Native American, African American, and disabled adult communities for almost 50 years. He was recognized as an NAU President’s Distinguished Teaching Fellow. In his 32 years at NAU, he taught nearly 12,000 students at the undergraduate and graduate levels, according to his biography on the county’s CHAC website.

With extensive experience working with farmworkers in California, the Hopi Tribe here in Arizona, in Mayan communities in Guatemala and Mexico, and as consultant with the U.S. Department of Health &Human Services, he provided valuable cultural insights and technical assistance in community engagement, asset based community development, and program assessment.

He was a contributor to the World Health Organization Spanish-Language Manual on Disabilities, a past Board Member of the Society for Applied Anthropology, the Flagstaff Unified School District and the Museum of Northern Arizona.

He was married for more than 45 years to Marina Vasquez, a Mayan elder (now retired) with the NAU Native American Cultural Center. They have 2 sons, (District 2 Supervisor) Jeronimo and Francisco Vasquez, and 7 wonderful grandchildren.

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Celebration of Life for Professor Emeritus Miguel Vasquez to be held from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3 at the duBois Center, Aspen Rooms A-B-C, Northern Arizona University.

There will be music, food, and dancing to celebrate Dr. Vasquez’s legacy.

A GoFundMe account has been created to establish a memorial scholarship at NAU.

Please visit: https://gofund.me/0afc7f2f