Carmen Oliva Espinoza was born August 5, 1928 to parents Candelaria Luna De Barrera and Jose Barrera, in Chicago, Illinois. During her early childhood, it was her father’s wish to return to their hometown of Torreón, in the state of Coahuila, Mexico, where she would grow up alongside her brother Jose. Carmen received a catholic education that was strongly motivated by her culture, faith, and family customs. She followed her interests and attended university to study business management and accounting. As a teenager, she would assist her father in operating the family-owned grocery corner store. This is where she would meet her future husband, Marcelino Espinoza Acosta. After a short dating period, they married on October 30, 1952.
In late 1953, Carmen followed her husband to Dallas, Texas, where they were welcomed by her aunts Casimira and Maria Luna, who was an established local business owner of Luna’s Tortilla Factory in Downtown Dallas. Carmen worked at the tortilla factory for 20 years and would later move on to Consolidated Casting Corporation where she began and grew many beloved friendships amongst a group of loyal coworkers.
In the late 1950’s, Carmen and Marcelino moved their young family to the now historic Little Mexico Village. Their four children, Juan Ignacio, Eduardo, Beatriz, and Cesar attended St. Anne’s School. The family were members of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church which was the neighborhood’s religious, social, and cultural center. In August 1970, Carmen and Marcelino settled in Pleasant Grove, where to this day, she would live in the home that all their grandchildren and great-grandchildren would come to know and grow up in.
Carmen Oliva Espinoza was a woman of great faith who loved her family dearly. She was considered an honorary mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother by many of her close friends and the friends of her children and grandchildren. Her warmth was always such a comforting presence. Being a 17-year cancer survivor, Carmen won her battle against breast cancer. She never wavered in her charitable giving and was a regular donor to numerous nonprofit organizations. Above all, Carmen was an impeccable cook and shared her love for food, feeding her family’s hearts through their stomachs. Her tamales were legendary and the treat her family looked forward to enjoying every Christmas Eve.
She is preceded in death by her husband of 68 years, Marcelino, parents Candelaria Luna and Jose, brother Jose Barrera and sister-in-law, Marta Moreno De Barrera. She is survived by step-daughter Carmen Espinoza, son Juan Ignacio Espinoza and wife Nora, son Eduardo “Bear” Espinoza, daughter Beatriz “Bea” Mojica, son Cesar Espinoza and wife Billie Jo, twenty grandchildren, forty-nine great grandchildren, and fourteen great-great grandchildren.
The family welcomes flowers, which can be sent to Grove Hill Funeral Home. As our grandmother was a passionate charitable giver, we also welcome donations made in her memory to the American Cancer Society- https://www.cancer.org/, or Children First Counseling Center in Grand Prairie- https://www.childrenfirstinc.org/.
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