Gloria Soto, an administrative analyst in the Office of Faculty Affairs, passed away July 30. She was 64.

Soto served as the Faculty Affairs liaison with the Payroll Services office, ensuring that all instructional faculty were paid properly and promptly. She began as a temporary hire in 2016 and was later hired full time.

“Gloria was a behind-the-scenes person who made us successful in meeting payroll deadlines,” said DeAnn VonBerg, a longtime staff colleague who worked with Soto in Faculty Affairs before retiring last year. “Gloria’s always been the unsung hero, very detail oriented. She quietly did her job, and she was the MVP everywhere we went.”

Prior to working at Fresno State, Soto completed a 34-year career as an administrative professional with Fresno County. According to VonBerg — who was friends with Soto for more than four decades, as they worked together in the same offices for most of that time — Soto worked her way up the ranks to supervising payroll technician for the county’s Auditor-Controller/Treasurer-Tax Collector’s office, where she played a key role in implementing the PeopleSoft Human Resources management system, which is still used by the county today. Soto retired from the county as a personnel analyst for its HR department.

“Gloria always worked diligently behind the scenes to ensure the accuracy of the compensation for employees,” VonBerg said. “Everyone she encountered was treated with professionalism, compassion and quality service. Her selfless devotion, knowledge, skills, integrity, and work ethic were beyond comparison.”

In Soto’s second career at Fresno State, she again worked with pride behind the scenes, VonBerg said. “Gloria was the glue that kept things going,” she said.

Claudia Lopez, a staff colleague in Faculty Affairs, said everyone in the office knew that Soto was analytical, consistent, deliberate and responsible. “She read and understood everything literally,” Lopez said. “She would question everything, and she clarified what [we] meant to say.”

Lopez said Soto was also “harmonious,” a calming presence when “the world felt like it was going cuckoo.” She said Soto packed lunches from home with love, enjoyed campus walks with colleagues, and always showed grace and deep interest in her team members’ families.

“Gloria made the cuckoo feel not so crazy,” Lopez said.

Soto’s daughter, Nicole, said she was glad her mom got to meet her granddaughter, Zoey, who was born less than a year ago. “My mom was so happy to be a grandma,” Nicole Soto said.

In addition to her daughter and granddaughter, Soto is survived by an extended family of brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews. She was a Kingsburg native. Read her obituary here.

Graveside services will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 17 at Fresno Memorial Gardens Cemetery, 175 S. Cornelia Ave. Lunch and a celebration of life with family and friends will follow at Frazier Gardens and Clubhouse, 1745 N. Cornelia Ave.