Her hands and her feet sometimes failed her, but that rarely
deterred Lupe A. Serrano from living life the best she could.
Her hands and her feet sometimes failed her, but that rarely deterred Lupe A. Serrano from living life the best she could.
She sewed fancy dresses and crocheted blankets for her children and grandchildren. In her younger days, she would dress up in high heels and spin around the floor with her husband, Joe, during Mexican dances at Wheeler Auditorium.
More recently, she enjoyed watching old Mexican movies starring Vicente Fernandez, and cruising the aisles of Wal-Mart.
Mrs. Serrano died Sunday, Feb. 23, 2003 after spending 11 days in a coma at San Jose Medical Center. She had fallen accidentally at home. She was 75.
Born in Fontana, Calif., Mrs. Serrano moved to Gilroy in the early 1930s with her mother, Josephine Ayala and younger brothers shortly after the death of her father, Luz Ayala. She grew up in the Rucker and Buena Vista areas, and attended Rucker and Severance elementary schools while also helping her mother, who remarried and was raising eight children.
Mrs. Serrano met her husband, Joe, through their parents and, after a short courtship, marked by love letters and dates at the old Strand Theater, she agreed to marry him at age 15. They were to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary on March 4.
The Serranos raised their five children in Gilroy and lived in the same house on Chestnut Street for 48 years. During World War II, the family lived briefly in Richmond while Mr. Serrano worked at the shipyards.
Mrs. Serrano processed tomatoes and other fruit at the old Filice and Perrelli Cannery during the 1940s and 1950s and was a member of the Cannery Workers Union, Local 679. She later worked at Driftwood Convalescent Hospital as a cook, and at Brite-N- Clean Cleaners and Beverly’s Fabrics.
Her biggest passions included homemaking and sewing. She was a deft, imaginative seamstress who cut her own patterns and sewed for many women in town, as well as her family. During the 1970s, she was a sewing and cooking instructor for the Pacheco Pass 4-H Club.
Mrs. Serrano had contracted rheumatoid arthritis as a young woman in her 20s, an illness that often made it difficult for her to walk and use her hands. During the last five years she battled breast cancer three times, as well as osteoporosis.
Still, illness rarely dimmed her smile or sense of humor. She liked to collect dolls, try her luck at the slot machines, and go camping and fishing with her husband.
Along with her husband, Mrs. Serrano is survived by her children, Hope Olivares of Elk Grove; Joseph Serrano Jr. of Houston; Susan Felice of Gilroy; Barbara Serrano of Seattle; and Jim Serrano of Los Banos.; her brother, Louis Ayala Sr. of Gilroy; two sisters, Esther Reyes of Las Vegas, Nev.; and Sarah Lopez of Salida, Calif.
She is survived by nine grandchildren, Roel Olivares Jr. of Sacramento; Dina Felice Heaps of Chico; Joelle Olivares Bean of Elk Grove; Joseph Serrano III and John Serrano, both of Houston; Denise Felice Frazier of Manchester, Md.; Rene Olivares of Elk Grove; Jaime Serrano of Houston; and Elizabeth Serrano of Los Banos. Ten great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews also survive, as well as cousins in Arizona and Nevada.
She is preceded in death by her mother, Josephine Herman; her step-father, Frank Herman; her brothers, Ernest Ayala of San Jose; Manuel Ayala of Grover City, Calif., Leandro Herman of San Jose; and her sister, Eleanor Silva of Long Beach.
A vigil will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday at Habing Family Funeral Home. Visitation will begin at 1 p.m. A funeral mass will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Mary’s Church in Gilroy. Burial will follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery.
Remembrances may be sent to the Arthritis Foundation, Northern California Chapter, 657 Mission St., Suite 603, San Francisco, CA 94105; or the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, P. O. Box 650309, Dallas, TX 75265-0309.
