Jovita Arias Palomo

Jovita Palomo left this earth peacefully, surrounded by siblings and family, on July 25, 2024. She was born in Aguaje de Los Castillos, Armadillos de Los Infantes, San Luis Potosí, Mexico. A lifelong Dodgers and Sandy Koufax fan, Jovita immigrated with her family in the summer of 1945, settling in Harlingen, Texas. The time she spent with her younger siblings inspired many stories that continue to be told today.

In Harlingen, many young immigrants like Jovita began to work at an early age. She and her siblings started the school year late every year due to fieldwork, only to be pulled out of school in May to work, never completing a full school year. After completing her 6th-grade year at Davy Crocket, she was not allowed to continue with her education. However, she assisted her parents by providing for her family while working in the agriculture fields. During the 1950s, the family migrated throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio, Michigan, and Nebraska before settling in California in 1957.

Jovita’s life was filled with adventurous tales; one often told was the family's experience harvesting cherries in Traverse City, MI. This stood out because of the near tragedies they would later laugh about. As a young teenager in 1953, she gained employment at Harrel's Essential Drug in Harlingen as a dishwasher and then a second job in 1956 at Joe Graso’s sorting shrimp. Jovita was a voracious reader, a student of history, a Rams fan, and, as mentioned, a vast Dodgers fan—her love of classical art paintings and music, including her favorite singer, Johnny Mathis.

After arriving in California, the family continued to follow the various harvest seasons of the Central Valley, harvesting plums, oranges, potatoes, cotton, and figs in Fresno County. As an adult, she later began employment at Bayly’s Manufacturing in Visalia, CA, until the plant closed. She began a new adventure of buying and selling items at the remate (swap meet). This involved visiting as many yard sales as possible with her sister Paula and meeting and setting up shop with her brother Jose every Sunday, competing for who made the most money.

She loved her family trips to the Bay Area, staying with her sister Irma, and touring San Francisco while catching a Giants vs. Dodgers game at Candlestick Park. She enjoyed shopping trips to downtown Fresno with her sisters and visiting her sister Estela, where she resided. Jovita mentored and was admired by her younger siblings Arturo, Robert, Jaime, and her sidekick Gracie. Jovita was close and supportive of her nephews and nieces; being surrounded by her relatives energized her. She created magical Christmases for them, never leaving one out, and took pride in buying the best Christmas tree at the local Kmart.

Jovita shared many childhood experiences, the most notable of which was her youth working alongside her younger sister, Vera, washing dishes and peeling shrimp, then at the local Woolworths in Harlingen. Although she was never married, her nieces and nephews were her children, positively influencing everyone with her wit and energy that affected everyone she met.

She is survived by siblings Apolonio Palomo, Arturo Palomo, and Estela Aguirre, all of Woodlake. Irma Alvarez of Berkley, Ca., Jose Palomo of Exeter and Paula Luna and Vera Vaca of Visalia.