Mary Lou Hernandez, 90, joined our eternal Father in peace and surrounded by family on June 28, 2022 in Manteca, CA. She was born María de la Luz Burciaga on March 10, 1932 in the village of Arnulfo R. Gómez, Durango, México.
Mary Lou is reunited in heaven with her beloved husband, Vincent C. Hernandez, son, Macario Hernandez, and grandson, Mac Hernandez. Mary Lou is survived by her children; Robert (Debbie) Hernandez, Anita (Dave) Simpson, Mary Ellen (Gary) Mueller, and Vince (Risa) Hernandez II. Her love lives on in her grandchildren, David (Tammy) Simpson, Mary Elizabeth (Steven) Aguilar, Michael (Allison) Hernandez, Matthew (Megan) Hernandez, Adam (Cory) Hernandez, Esteban (Caroline) Hernandez, Melissa Mueller, Nick (Kailyn) Mueller, Sebastian (Christina) Hernandez, Ana (Benjamin) Allsopp Hernandez, and Vincent Hernandez III. Her great-grandchildren include Abi, Trinity, Jack, Sophia, Taylor, Daniel, David, Isabella, Juaquin, Cruz, Adrian, William, Ivey, and Brooklyn.
In her youth, Mary Lou traveled for ten years throughout the state of Durango, MX with a traveling village teacher, later becoming an educator herself. Upon marrying and moving to the States, Mary Lou was a devoted wife to husband Vincent (combat veteran and Manteca reserve police officer) for 28 years. After his passing, she spread her gifts of kindness, humility, and selflessness throughout her local community. She worked in the parish office of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Manteca, where she became a parishioner in 1959. She then worked as a bilingual educator at Yosemite Elementary in the Manteca Unified School District before retiring with the San Joaquin Office of Education.
Unwavering in her Catholic faith, Mary Lou was committed to her ministry of visiting the sick and elderly in their homes and hospitals with the Legion of Mary for over 20 years. She actively served her parish community with decades of harvest festival volunteering, cooking for the priests, mending liturgical vestments, participating in choir, and serving as a Eucharistic minister. She will be remembered for her vibrant energy, open heart, loving spirit, and amazing cooking. Her creativity, green thumb, knack for handiwork, warmth, and patient listening touched many lives far beyond her large, beautiful family.
P.L. Fry & Son Chapel, 290 N. Union Rd., Manteca will host a Vigil on Thursday July 7, from 3-6 p.m., followed by a Rosary at
6 p.m. A funeral mass in her honor will be held at St. Anthony’s Church, 505 E. North St., Manteca on Friday, July 8, at 11 a.m. She will be laid to rest near her husband and son at St. John’s Catholic Cemetery, 17871 Carrolton Rd., Escalon.
Manteca (Calif.) Bulletin
Friday, July 1, 2022
