Carmelita Hernandez

Carmen (Carmelita) Moreno Hernandez, age 76, passed away on August 17, 2015 in Austin, Texas. Carmelita is preceded in death by her parents, Jesus and Tomasa Valadez, husband, Isaias (Cy) Hernandez, son Greg, and daughter Rebecca.

She is survived by her daughters: Mita Hernandez of Austin, Ginny Hernandez-Gage (Todd) of Round Rock, and Elena Doyle (Patrick) of Pflugerville, Texas. Carmelita is survived by four siblings: Ben Moreno (Josephine) of Fort Worth, Ruben Valadez of Livingston, her sister and best friend Eloisa Renteria (Isaac) of LaPorte, and Arthur Z. Valadez (Karla) of Houston. Carmelita is survived by her brothers-in-law: Benjamin Hernandez (Sandra) of Newport News, VA, and Luis Hernandez (Hyon Jung) of Austin, TX, and dear cousin and friend, Emma Nunez of Austin, TX. Carmelita was the proud Abuela of 7 grandchildren: Joshua Gosdin (Adriana), Adam Klein (Sara), Jeremiah and Jessup Hernandez, Alejandra Gage, and Alicia and Aidan Doyle. She is also survived by numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews.

Carmelita married her high school sweetheart, Isaias Hernandez. She spent 21 years by his side as an Air Force wife, living in Virginia, Louisiana, and Texas. After his retirement in 1976, they settled in Austin with their four children. It was during this time that Carmelita devoted herself to her family and church. After putting three daughters through college, Carmelita realized her dream of going to college, and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2000 at age 60.

Carmelita was a spiritual person who lived her faith daily. Her ministry was to help wherever she saw a need. Whether it was playing the piano at church, teaching Sunday school, leading women’s ministry training, helping people navigate the immigration process, mentoring international students during her time at U.T., or opening her home to those far from family, Carmelita considered it a blessing and honor to be able to do these things for others. The family would like to thank the staff at St. David’s Central for the treatment and care given to Mom following her surgeries. We’d also like to extend our deepest appreciation to the staff at Hospice Austin’s Christopher House for the care and attention given to Mom in her last weeks. She lived her final days in comfort and peace.