Family, activism, and legacy
Dolores Clara Huerta (née Fernández) was born on April 10, 1930, in Dawson, New Mexico. She was the only daughter of Juan Fernández and Alicia Chávez. Her parents divorced when she was 3 and she later moved to Stockton, California, with her mother. She went on to study at the University of Pacific’s Delta College in Stockton, now known as San Joaquin Delta College.
Huerta married Ralph Head when she was in college. The marriage, out of which came two children, ended in divorce. She had five children with her second husband Ventura Huerta, whose surname she kept after they divorced. When Huerta was in her early 40s, she embarked upon a relationship with Richard Chavez, a brother of Cesar Chavez’s, and they were “life partners” until his passing in 2011. They had four children together, according to the New York Times.
Huerta had 14 children, 24 grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren, and seven great-great-grandchildren, a spokesperson told TIME. “Dolores was a deeply private person when it came to her family, and while all 14 of her children were part of her life, some parts of that story were never shared publicly,” according to the spokesperson.