Juana Gallardo Buell

Juana Gallardo Buell was born on August 21, 1922 in San Bernardino, California, to Mexican immigrants, Camilo and Alvina Gallardo. She was their last child (the baby) and the only one born in the United States. She grew up in San Bernardino and later moved to Fontana.

She is the last surviving member of her generation. She was preceded in death by six brothers and two sisters. The majority of her family is buried at Mt. View Cemetery and it was her wish to be buried here as well.

She is survived by her son, Luis A. Gallardo and his wife, Teri and daughter Alvina Buell Hollensbe and husband, Rex

She has six grandsons Louie, Richard (and granddaughter-in-law, Lena Young Gallardo), Bernardino S. Lara, III, Erik, Keith and Craig Hollensbe

She has five great-grandsons, Ryan and Branden Gallardo; Andrew and James Lara and one great-granddaughter, Alyssa Young

Juana can best be remembered as always helping others and giving others something that they may be in need of. She would always tell us stories “of the old days” and how her family picked apricots and walnuts, and how her father handcrafted wooden Christmas figurines for all to enjoy. She always enjoyed riding in the rumble seat of her brother’s car – this made her feel important. Her father was also a baker – baking Mexican bread treats. She was most proud of her brothers for their service to our country, for their aviation skills and for their gift and love of music and dance. Her brother and sister-in-law, Consuelo (Connie) were dancers at Padua Hills in Clairemont, Ca.

Her heritage and family were most important to her. Frequently visiting relatives during weekends was something she loved to do. Her favorite vacation was flying up to San Jose to visit relatives. She would always vacation during August, her birthday month. She spent a lot of time with her sister, Josefina (Josie) simply because they both lived close to one another.

Jennie, as many of her friends knew her worked at Goodwill Industries for over 30 years. She worked as a supervisor in the Laundry Department and as a Jewelry Pricer. She has maintained a friendship of over 30 years with friends she worked with at Goodwill and keeps in regular contact with them.

Her faith was also important to her. She coordinated and was in charge of seeing that Communion was offered at the Senior Center, where she resided. If she would not be there on that specific day, she worried that no one would handle it for her.

She was also involved in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, helping to raise money or baking treats to sell at fundraisers.

To know Jennie was to own a pair of her hand-knitted slippers. If you wanted a pair, you simply had to tell her, tell her what color you wanted and your shoe size. That’s all it took and she would get to working on making them. If your feet were narrow or square, she could make it happen. It was never about her – it was always about what she could do for others.

Some favorites of Jennie are pizza, chile rellenos and tamales – but the kind that Josie made. They had to have a lot of meat in them and not just “full of masa”. Pork ribs were also a favorite of hers. For her birthday, she would always say it didn’t matter where we went to eat – but we all knew she would pick a rib joint. She would order the full rack, and be surprised at how many there were on the plate. She would also try to pay for her own meal – stating that she didn’t want us to spend money on her. She was funny like that. She didn’t care much for Asian food – because she thought it all had fish in it. Oddly enough, she went to Benihana a couple of years ago for her grandson’s birthday. She was a bit skeptical, but really enjoyed the chef’s “show”, steak, rice, soup and dessert.

Desserts were also a favorite of hers. She loved pan dulce (the piggies). She would quite often dunk them in her coffee or hot chocolate. She loved apple cobbler and strawberry pie –with whipped cream on top and homemade chocolate chip cookies (with nuts).

For the reception after the service, we’ll be remembering Jennie with a feast of pizza, salad and drinks. It’s what she loved because it’s simply and inexpensive – what she would have wanted us to do.