Corina Cruz

From simple beginnings as the eldest daughter of ten children, Corina, known as Corine by her friends today, was born in San Antonio, Texas on December 26, 1944; eight short months before the end of WWII. Corina graduated valedictorian from John F. Kennedy night school in 1966 despite having a two year old son to raise without the support of her husband. In late 1971 Corina moved to San Francisco, CA with her now four small children and second husband, Gabriel Cruz. By the time her youngest was turning eight she was a single mother of four trying to survive and keeping her family together while on welfare. A simple yet poignant example of Corina?s courage is the time when she foiled an attempted rape in her backyard with a simple phrase. Early one morning Corina awoke to the sound of muffled screams and with her eldest son went to investigate and found two men beginning to rape a woman in her backyard. After a slight hesitation at the shock of being a witness to this scene, Corina, with force and conviction said ?Ricky, quick, go get my gun!? Hearing this, the two men ran off leaving the scared woman with scratches and bruises, but with her dignity intact. One of the family traditions that her children fondly remember was to plan ahead and save eggshells for use in the Mexican tradition of ?cascarones?. This involves the use of painted eggshells filled with confetti to smash on your intended victims heads. This was done for Corina?s family Easter celebrations each year. As her children moved into adulthood she transitioned smoothly into the position of being a grandmother. Her ?grandmotherhood? began when one of her sons married and brought two small boys with her. Corina without hesitation took these two small boys into her heart and home and welcomed them as her grandchildren. A few years later her first granddaughter was born to Corina?s great excitement. Some of the things that made Grandma Corina special are that she never forgot a birthday of a grandchild and always had a special card filled with confetti and a little spending money. The fact that it was hermetically sealed and took a half hour to open made it that much more special. Each year she would meticulously buy and collect gifts with each grandchild?s individuality in mind. At the time of her passing, Corina had 9 grandchildren, and 5 great grandchildren. She is survived by her companion of thirty two years Jose Carabez, her eldest son Roy Richard Hernandez and wife Jessica, eldest daughter Annette Barroso and husband Ernie, youngest daughter Margarita Cruz, and daughter-in-law Solly Hernandez. Her son Frank E. Hernandez IV preceded her in passing in 1997. She is survived by her mother Lydia, 8 brothers, 1 sister and many nephews and nieces. A tremendous number of family, good friends and acquaintances will miss Corina?s love of life and humbleness.

Corina Cruz

December 26, 1944 - February 23, 2011