Remembering Angel Delgado

By Lizzie Kipp
Staff Writer

Shortly after the start of the spring semester, unforeseen tragedy struck Hutchinson Community College.

Angel Delgado, catering coordinator for Great Western Dining at HutchCC, died on Jan. 8, the day before her 53rd birthday.

Delgado was a mother, a wife, and a grandmother. Her death was unexpected and still has effects on many, especially the cafeteria workers.

Brenda Roberts, the food service director, spoke highly of Delgado’s work ethic and kind heart.

“She was a self-starter,” Roberts said. “She’d just look around, and if something needed to be done she did it.”

Roberts said that Delgado was not only her employee, but also her friend. She joked about how despite her hard-working nature, Delgado was never on time and always had a Dr Pepper with her.

Delgado had been with HutchCC’s cafeteria inside Parker Student Union for more than a year now, but she also worked there many years prior to Roberts’ hiring.

“I loved her to pieces,” Roberts said. “She always got everything done, and I miss her terribly.”

Roberts also said how kind-hearted Delgado was. She was always busy helping someone with something, and not just at HutchCC. In the summertime she mowed lawns for people.

Roberts is in charge of finding a new head of catering to replace Delgado, and admits she is having difficulty filling her shoes.“I’m struggling to even want to look for somebody,” Roberts said. “It just makes it too real.”

Terri Pike, the cafeteria’s administrative assistant, met Delgado when she started at HutchCC in 2020 as a faculty secretary. The two had worked in the cafeteria together for about a year now.

“Angel was a very hard worker,” Pike said. “And she was just fun to be around.”

Pike said Delgado was well-known and loved by so many people. She took pride in her work and was often helping out everywhere she was needed – grilling, salad bar, baking, and even cashiering.

“She had skills from A to Z,” Pike said. “She was a big part of our team, and was very good at what she did.”

Delgado’s coworkers are still affected by her death today, but Pike said she knows she’s still with them in spirit. They keep little pieces of her around – her birthday photo is still posted on the bulletin board, as well as little notes she’s written here and there.

“She was a wonderful person and is truly missed here,” Pike said. “We kind of feel like we have a big hole without her.”

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