Carmen Barrera, widow of Hall of Fame trainer Laz Barrera, dead at 87

Carmen Barrera, the widow of Hall of Fame trainer Laz Barrera, died last Sunday at her home in La Costa, Calif., after suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease, according to her son, Larry. She was 87.

A graveside service is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. on Thursday at Live Oak Cemetery in Monrovia. Calif. Carmen Barrera will be buried next to her husband.

“She was a great lady. She was my best friend,” Larry Barrera said.

She had been under hospice care in recent weeks, Larry Barrera said.

Before her condition deteriorating, Carmen Barrera worked for 13 years as a volunteer in the pediatric ward of Scripps Hospital in Encinitas, Calif., where she was a Spanish-language translator.

Laz Barrera trained the last Triple Crown winner, Affirmed, in 1978. He died in 1991.

Carmen Barrera is survived by two sons, Larry and Albert; a daughter, Blanca; and five grandchildren.