JUANITA ALVAREZ Obituary

Juanita Romo Alvarez died peacefully at 6:44 p.m. on July 25, 2024. She was born on June 23,
1928, in Trona, California, to Hermenegildo and María del Carmen Romo, the oldest of 12
children. There she had her first car ride in a Ford Model T. She was raised on a farm in Los
Altos de Jalisco until about age 13 where she loved to ride horses. She and her family then
moved to the small town of El Valle de Guadalupe, Jalisco, Mexico.
On October 28, 1947, Juanita married Norberto Alvarez, and they had 10 children, eight of
whom survived and are living: Maria Guadalupe Alvarez (Luis+) Walton, Norberto Alvarez-
Romo, Alicia del Carmen Alvarez (Robert) Nash, Lucila Alvarez, Ricardo Ricci-Alvarez
(Veronica), Ofelia Alvarez (Alfonso+) Casillas, Leticia Alvarez (Jaime) Escudero, and Fernando
Alvarez (Wendy). She is survived by 6 siblings, 18 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren and
many, many nieces and nephews.
Juanita was warm and generous; loving and kind; and she was loved and admired by all who
knew her! She made friends everywhere, and she was known to charm and amuse people from
all walks of life with her stories and quick wit. Juanita loved to sing and listen to music, paint
and draw, and she was an accomplished seamstress and embroiderer. And, could she cook! There
was nothing better than Mama Juanita’s pozole, enchiladas, and tamales!
Juanita was a very hard worker. Besides raising eight children, she helped her husband start the
Lucy’s Drive-In chain of restaurants and a donut coffee shop. Following that, she worked as a
cook in schools for many years.
A devout practicing Catholic, Juanita was active in her parishes. She was a catechism teacher for
many years, a leader in the Legion de Maria, and enjoyed going to daily mass. Her funeral mass
and burial are at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 17, 2024, at Holy Cross Mortuary Church and
Cemetery in Culver City. The Rosary will also be at Holy Cross on Friday, August 16, 2024, at
4:00 p.m.