Herminia Hernandez Zavala

Even though she was born in Mexico, she decided with her husband, Santos Zavala, to make her home and raise her family of 7 in Tyler, Texas.

She worked a majority of her life as a cook at Papacitas and Posados for many years and then supported her family by working in environmental services at Tyler Junior College. She retired in 2011 and finally became a stay at home mom and cooked for her loved ones.

She enjoyed like all girls do, shopping at Marshalls, eating out, and drinking her morning coffee. At home, she spent her time in the kitchen dancing, listening to music one her radio and cooking anytime her heart desired. She spent her days watching action movies and telenovelas, "chismeando" on the phone, watering and loving her plants, reading her bible, praying, and lastly, raising and watching her last granddaughter grow.

She will always be remembered as a hard worker, for her loving stubbornness and tough love. Her smiles, laughter, and will to live until her last breath will remain imprinted in our hearts she was a “guerrera” that truly showed, “If there is a will, there is a way”

She is preceded in death by her husband, Jose Santos Zavala, her daughter, Maria del Carmen Zavala, and grandsons, Adrian Pecina, and Christopher Daniel Zavala.

She lives through her 6 remaining children, Anel Pecina, Rene Zavala, Jose Margarito Zavala, Robert Zavala, Rocio Campos, and Michelle Kimberly Zavala.

She was a grandmother to 16 grandchildren and great grandmother to 8 great grandchildren.

A visitation for Herminia will be held Thursday, December 12, 2024 from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM at Tyler Memorial Funeral Home, Tyler, TX 75702. A celebration of life will occur Friday, December 13, 2024 from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM at Primera Asamblea de Dios, 407 E Queen St, Tyler, TX 75702. A graveside service will occur Friday, December 13, 2024 from 12:30 PM to 12:30 PM at Tyler Memorial Funeral Home - Cemetery and Mausoleum, 12053 State Hwy 64, Tyler, TX 75704.