Guadalupe "Lupana" Villarreal

Lupana was the daughter of Leopoldo and Odelia Villarreal and was the youngest in a family of four girls. Her family moved to Richmond, California in 1944.

In California, Lupana met Flaviano Martinez, a World War II Army veteran who saw action in Europe, including at the Battle of the Bulge. They married in 1947.

In 1949 Lupana had the first of eight children – three girls and five boys.

When her children began attending school Lupana became active in the PTA and became a den mother and assistant leader with the Cub Scouts, Bluebirds, Boy Scouts, and Girl Scouts, the United Crusade, and activities at Saint David’s Catholic Church in Richmond, California.

Social justice was Lupana’s life-long passion. In 1965 she joined, and was active in, the Richmond, California local American GI Forum’s Women’s Auxiliary. The American GI Forum was founded in 1948 in Corpus Christi, Texas, to address the concerns of Mexican American veterans, who were segregated from other veterans groups. The American GI Forum was formed to request services for World War II veterans of Mexican descent who were denied medical services by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, but soon expanded into non-veteran issues such as voting rights, jury selection, and educational desegregation, advocating for the civil rights of all Mexican Americans.

In 1968 Lupana was elected to the position of California State Chairman of the American GI Forum’s Women’s Auxiliary. As California State Chairman, she helped organize a campaign event for, and met, Vice-President Hubert Humphrey during his 1968 Presidential campaign. As Chair of her local Auxiliary, she also helped raise money for college scholarships for local students, for the Delano farm workers, and food for needy families. She also was a sponsor of Kennedy High School Mayo group in Richmond, California, a campus club devoted to bringing Mexican culture to students.

In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s Lupana also worked with the Model Cities Program (which was part of President Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society Program” to reduce urban blight and poverty through changes to urban planning and design).

Although Lupana only had an eighth-grade education, she loved to read. Classical literature, the Bible, and religious literature being her favorites. Lupana earned a G.E.D. in her early forties.

Lupana divorced in 1971. She later re-married and moved to Omaha, Nebraska, with her two youngest sons.

In or about 1975 Lupana became the Executive Director of the Chicano Awareness Center, Inc., a community-based organization serving the needs of the local Chicano community. Among other things, she wrote grant proposals and obtained funding from the Federal Government for the first bi-lingual Head Start program in Omaha, and funds for improvements to the Chicano Awareness Center in South Omaha.

In the late 1970’s Lupana became a “born again” Christian. Later in life she traveled often to San Miguel de los Lagos, Mexico, where she engaged in lay preaching, prayed with and for the poor, and made many friends.

Lupana is survived by seven children: Marie (“Midge”) Schultz, Santa Rosalia (“Rose”) Husser, Odelia (“Lily”) Martinez, Cecilio (“Cecil”) Martinez, Juanito (“John”) Martinez, Manuel Martinez, and Roberto (“Robert”) Martinez; fifteen grandchildren: Eric Echevarria, Gene Echevarria, Chris Echevarria, David Schultz, Jr., Patrick Husser, George Husser, Paulette Ayala-Karnish, Richard Cordero, Irene Cordero, Christina (“Tina”) Martinez, Angelica (“Angie”) Martinez, Cecil Martinez, Jr., Rachel Martinez, Naomi Martinez, and Nina Martinez; thirty-two great-grandchildren: Kayla Echevarria, Emily Echevarria, Christian Echevarria, Skyler Echevarria, Nadia Echevarria, Eva Echevarria, Sofia Echevarria, James Cordero, Nico Cordero, Nicio Cordero, Anthony Cordero, Breanna Horn, Michael Horn, Valencia Rodriguez, Tatiana Frank, Jose Padilla, Anastasia Padilla, Jace Rodriguez, Marlo Rodriguez, Alexis Heavey, Haley Heavey, Courtney Martinez, Nikalysa Martinez, Jessica Martinez, Cecilio Martinez III, Timothy Husser, Alyssa Husser, Anthony Ayala, Skyia Ayala, Marcus Ayala, Dakota Schultz, Ellie Schultz; six step-great grandchildren: Ethan Karnish, Valerie Ayala-McCullough, Alana Robert, Andrew Perrigo, Evelyn Hudson, and Jaymes Perrigo; Thirteen great-great-grandchildren: Elena Cordero, Lucciana Cordero, Angel Cordero, Jojo Cordero, Anastasia Cordero, Lauren Ures, Aubrey Ures, Bailey Ures, Camden Ures, Christopher Smith-Husser, Beliana Gonzalez, Lorenzo Gonzalez, Elias Gonzalez; and three step great-great-grandchildren: Piper Hudson, Madison Hudson, Ac Hudson; and many beloved nephews, nieces, grand-nephews and nieces, and great-grand nephews and nieces.