Vivian Margaret Salazar

Vivian Salazar, 75, a longtime Amarillo resident and journalist, died Sunday, August 18, 2024.

Services are scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, August 24, 2024, at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 1601 S. Georgia St. Arrangements are by Boxwell Brothers Funeral Directors, 2800 Paramount Blvd. 

Vivian was born on Dec. 2, 1948, in Premont, Texas, to Antonio and Yolanda Salazar, the second of seven children in the family. The Salazars moved to Amarillo in 1957, where they became active members of their community.

Vivian found refuge from her siblings with her books, with which she would hide away and travel to other worlds. That love of reading helped her become an amazing speller, winning the Amarillo Globe-News Spelling Bee twice and representing her hometown at the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.

After graduating in 1967 from St. Mary’s Academy and attending Amarillo College and West Texas State University, Vivian went to work for the Globe-News, transforming her love of books and writing into an impactful career. Other than a brief hiatus when she served as the public relations director for Amarillo Independent School District under Superintendent B.J. Stamps, the Globe-News was her home. In her time at the paper, she worked her way up from staff writer to Canyon bureau chief to Features Editor before her retirement.

In 1981, she met Linda “Cobbie” Cobb and helped raise her children, Todd and Hayden. Vivian was a beloved grandmother to their three children, Katie, Jameson and Madison.

Vivian passed her love of learning to Todd, Hayden and her nieces and nephews, and from them to their children. She also traveled frequently with the children, asking them to accompany her to South Texas, Washington D.C., and Boston, visiting museums and Zoo’s and other places of interest. She also volunteered as a coach with Kids Inc., served on the board of Planned Parenthood, and found other ways to directly give back to the community.

She was an amazing softball player and played a mean hand of gin rummy. She loved gardening and grew tomatoes for all neighborhood children wandering over to hang out at her house. She loved musicals, especially “The Wizard of Oz,” “My Fair Lady” and “Camelot.” She was an active member of a book club and loved sharing her favorite books with her nieces and great-nieces. She loved to crochet and cross-stitch and passed her skills to the nieces.

She was a member at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church where she served as a deacon and a member of the choir.

Vivian was preceded in death by her parents; Linda Bigham; sister Norma Salazar; and Todd Bigham. 

She is survived by Hayden McKinney; sister Jeannie Friddell of Amarillo; sister Diane McFall of Pinetop, Arizona; brother Richard Salazar of Bedford; sister Mary (Lolly) Salazar of Austin; and sister Patricia Salazar of Amarillo; three grandchildren; six nieces and nephews; and 13 great-nieces and nephews.