After a life of service to her family, the Church and her community, Sister Blanca Espinoza Gonzalez de Ayala, the widow of Elder Eduardo Ayala, an emeritus General Authority Seventy, died Wednesday, Oct. 11, in Valparaíso, Chile. She was 84 years old.

Elder Ayala, who died in 2020, was the first General Authority Seventy called from Chile and served in the Second Quorum of the Seventy from 1990 to 1995. 

Blanca Ester Espinoza was born and raised in Rinconada de Laja, Chile. She met Eduardo Ayala in Coronel, a small town in southern Chile, at the funeral of a relative of Elder Ayala. “It was very funny, because we didn’t get along well at all at first — it was a choque [crash],” Elder Ayala recalled in a Church News article.

“What I didn’t like about him was that he was always telling jokes,” Sister Ayala reported with a twinkle in her eyes. “My temperament isn’t like that.”

After three years of dating, Sister Ayala proposed to him. Eduardo considered it “for about 10 minutes,” recalled Sister Ayala, before accepting. 

They were married three days later at the Civil Register on Feb. 7, 1959.

“It was an adventure, but a marvelous adventure,” Sister Ayala said. 

The Ayalas soon added three children to their family, and one day received a knock on the door from some Latter-day Saint missionaries. Although Sister Ayala was soon ready to be baptized, Elder Ayala was not as enthusiastic. 

She waited patiently, however, and when she agreed to a baptismal date six months later, her husband was prepared. The couple and their oldest son, Patricio, were baptized on June 21, 1969. Their younger children, Viviana and Ricardo, were baptized later when they reached the age of 8.

Within eight months of his baptism, Elder Ayala was called as branch president in Santiago. The two served diligently and faithfully in a variety of callings.

In 1974, Elder Ayala began to work as director of seminaries and institutes for the Church Educational System, and Sister Ayala served as a seminary teacher, in addition to working with teenagers battling drug addiction. 

In a Church News article, Sister Ayala shared her love for the youth. “When I worked with the teenagers with drug addictions, they were addicts because they didn’t have the attention that all humans need. For youths to change their lives and live as the Father would have them live, you have to make them feel loved.”

In addition to Elder Ayala’s time as a general authority, Elder and Sister Ayala served as leaders of the Uruguay Montevideo Mission from 1985 to 1988, and Sister Ayala served as matron while her husband served as president of the Santiago Chile Temple from 1995 to 1998.

In an Ensign article, Elder Ayala referred to his wife as “my architect. I am what you see because of the help of my wife.” He credited her not only with helping him find the gospel but also with helping him shape his own character in ways that made it possible for him to serve the Lord.

Sister Ayala, who stood eye to eye with her 5-foot-5-inch husband, then quipped, ”The only thing I couldn’t do is make him grow more!” 

After being called as general authority, Elder Ayala expressed his and his wife’s eagerness to serve. “I have no fear in facing this calling, with the Lord for my guide and my wife to help me,” he said.

Funeral services are pending.