Juanita V. Gonzalez

Juanita V. Gonzalez passed away on May 18, 2024, at the age of 101. Juanita was born on January 27, 1923, in Santa Cruz, Texas.  She was the oldest living descendant from Saturnino Alaniz Vera and Victoriana Martinez Vera family from the San Buena Ventura Ranch now known as Rios, Texas. As a young woman, Juanita moved to San Diego, Texas, where she worked as a housekeeper for the Johnson and Risinger families. She also worked at the Duval County Food Distribution Center, and the San Diego Independent School District as a nurse’s aide and cafeteria worker. Juanita was a devoted Catholic and a member of the Altar Rosary Society.
Juanita enjoyed spending time with her good friends Diana Gonzalez, Idolina Rios, and Elvirita Alaniz. After church, they would often go out to eat and go shopping in Alice or Corpus Christi.  She also had fun on trips to Las Vegas with her nieces Maria, Christina, Nena and Tomacita. Juanita truly loved the town of San Diego too. She liked playing bingo at the Civic Center and visiting all her friends there for various occasions. She was even voted Queen at the Senior Center Valentine Celebration.
Juanita was famous across the many generations of her family for her cooking and baking skills. Some of the most treasured dishes she made from scratch were bean empanadas, lemon meringue pies, pan de polvo de anillo, date cookies, prune, pecan and apple cakes, and sweet cornbread for meriendas.  For her birthdays, she would often create a three-layer white cake, with pineapple filling and vanilla frosting, and cover it with coconut. All her friends and family were invited over to celebrate. In her later years in the nursing home, friends and family still celebrated her birthday with a party filled with decorations and, of course, cake! 
While Juanita was known for her delicious recipes, she will be missed most for her loving personality, kind smile, robust hugs, and giving nature. Her doors were always open to family who came to visit San Diego. Her charming home was overflowing with pictures she proudly displayed of her loved ones, including old and frayed black and white photos that were decades old to newer school pictures of great-great and even great-great-great nieces and nephews. Her yard was also filled with roses and other flowers, and the mint bush near her front door always made for the best hot tea. 
She is preceded in death by her parents; Carlos and Tomasita Vera Gonzalez, brothers and sisters; Lucinda (Mauro) Garcia, Crecenciana (Vidal) Garcia, Jovita Gonzalez, Manuel (Teresa) Gonzalez, Merardo (Antonia) Gonzalez, Eustorgio Gonzalez.
She is survived by her nieces and nephews; Ernestina Saenz, Irene Sepulveda, Vidal Garcia Jr., Jesus Maria Garcia, Tomacita Olivares, Diana Rodriguez, Imelda Garza Radke and numerous great, great-great, and great-great-great nieces and nephews. 
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The family wishes to express its appreciation of gratitude to her provider Sandra Perales. They also wish to thank the nurses and staff of the Windsor Nursing and Rehabilitation Center of San Diego, Texas. 

Pallbearers will be Mauro Garcia, Mario Lopez, Jose Olivares, Joel Trigo, Victor Trigo, and Emiliano Gonzales.

Visitation will begin on Wednesday, May 22, 2024, at 8:00 a.m. at with a Rosary to be recited at 9:00 a.m. at Mauro P. Garcia Funeral Home Chapel in San Diego. Mass will be held at St. Francis de Paula Church at 10:30 a.m. with burial to follow at the Gonzalez Cemetery in Rios, Texas. 

Condolences may be left on our website at www.mauropgarcia.com

Mauro P. Garcia Funeral Homes is entrusted with arrangements.