Juana Pitahin Mendoza

Juana "Janing" Pitahin Mendoza, age 95 - passed away peacefully, surrounded by family members on Friday, February 21, 2025. Janing was born on January 27, 1930 in Candelaria, Quezon, Philippines to Roberta Guerra Manalo and Manuel Arellano Pitahin, Sr.

She was part of the first graduating class of Manila Designing School, owned and operated by Leoncio Mendoza; who later became her husband. Upon successful completion of her training, she became one of the dressmaking instructors at that school, and subsequent designing school that her husband founded. When she migrated to the United States in 1982 to Knoxville, Tennessee - she used her skill to work as a seamstress at several other smaller outfits in town before she hired onto Levi’s Strauss & Co. where she worked for many years until her retirement.

Past retirement, she continued to work at the greenhouse of Sonny Robinson (a fellow church member from Farragut whom she and Leoncio met while volunteering at the Bishop Storehouse in West Knoxville); and at the print shop of another fellow church members, the Cruze/Cupp families. Juana lived her life in a spirit of service to others as she continued making clothes for, and cutting hair of, family members until her eyes became too dim to do so; and working on her vegetable and flower gardens that even up to her 94th year, she could still be seen outdoors tending to her garden.

She remained a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints since converting to the faith in 1975, while still in the Philippines.

She is survived by her six children: Angela (Jim Gain), Ricardo Mendoza (Cristeta), Aida (Alberto Manuel), Reynaldo Mendoza (Eliza), Menardo Mendoza (Lorina), and Jasmin (Mun Lee); 28 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great grandchildren; her youngest brother Manuel Pitahin, Jr. (Herminia), sister-in-law Angelina Pitahin; many loving nieces, nephews and cousins.

The family will receive friends on Friday, March 21st from 5:00pm until 8:00pm at Berry Lynnhurst Funeral Home. Funeral Service will be held Saturday, March 22nd, 11:30am at Berry Lynnhurst Funeral Home Chapel immediately followed by Entombment at Lynnhurst Cemetery.