Juanita De Pena

Juanita was born on June 10, 1932 in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. She was the daughter of Manuel Luis and Gilma Guedea Salinas. She was the oldest of three children, Perla Silvia Ortiz and (D) Victor Manuel Salinas.

She married Joel Carlos De Peña on November 23, 1958 in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico.

In 1935, her family moved to Matamoros where she grew up and went to school. She would tell stories of how protective she was of her younger siblings. Some labeled her a tomboy and the story goes that “where Juanita walked, the grass refused to grow.” She loved to lead her little friends through lots of adventures. She attended secondary school in Monterrey.

Her family founded the first radio station of Northern Mexico, where she was one of the first female radio announcers in the country. She would drive her father on a regular basis to Monterrey and Mexico City on business as they grew their advertising base.

In 1956, she met her future husband, Joel De Peña. They dated for 2 years and married in 1958 in the Matamoros Cathedral.

She moved with her new family to Austin, San Antonio and back to Brownsville to raise her children.

She had so many funny proverbs. She had a saying for just about any situation or occasion. She would have her kids in stitches from all the hilarious comments and analogies. Our lives were so molded by these cute and insightful observations that to this day, we quote and translate them for all to enjoy.

For those of you who knew our Mom, you know that she was someone that would not leave the house without looking impeccable. Her entire outfit was carefully planned. It had to match; from shoes, to jewelry to make-up and hair. As the story goes, on a trip to Hawaii she even dyed her hair lilac to match the majority of her wardrobe.

She was an avid cook. She loved to cook for her family. She collected cookbooks and recipes. It was not uncommon to find handwritten recipes strewn throughout the house. The whole family expected her to cook for Thanksgiving dinner and she did. She loved every minute of it. It was always mentioned that it appeared that there was always a lot of food. She just wanted to ensure everyone had enough to eat.

The love she shared with her husband was one of a kind. Everyone knew that she was crazy in love with him. When he took ill, she dotingly cared for him in every way while maintaining a household. When he passed, she said she had lost her best friend. She is probably dancing with him now.

Juanita was a loving and caring daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother and friend. Her love and light will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved her.

She is survived by her children, Manuel C. De Peña and his wife, Pamela of Potomac Falls,Virginia, Gilma Welsh and her husband Roberto E. of Sacramento, California, and Giselda Chomer and her husband Gerald of Houston, Texas. Her grandchildren include Christopher Chomer, David De Peña, Austin Welsh, Jonathan De Peña, and Mark Chomer.