Carrie Santos Peña

Carrie Santos Peña, born in 1952, passed away peacefully, surrounded by loving family, on February 15, 2024 in Chula Vista, California after a mercifully short but arduous battle with cancer. She was a proud native daughter of San Cristobal, Dominican Republic.

Carrie is survived by her three beloved boys; Joe, Giovanni, and Jonathan Santos, her much adored grandchildren, Gianna, David, Johann, and Sage, who will miss her dearly, along with siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and countless treasured friends and family. She also leaves behind Maria and Tanya Santos, her daughters in law that Carrie loved as if they were her own.

Carrie always had a flair for drama and the arts, a trait she certainly passed on, even as a precocious young girl growing up in a deeply politically divided San Cristobal. She shone and thrived surrounded by singing and acting, and was deeply involved in the arts at her private Catholic school, Colegio San Rafael. Just as her sons do today, she loved and enjoyed sports, especially volleyball.

Ever the avid world traveler, a passion that never left her, she attended high school and college in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico at Atillian College, followed by a short stint in Mexico at the University of Montemorelos. She earned, alongside sister Betsy, an Associate’s degree in Secretarial Arts. As a student at Antillian College, she met her future husband, Edwin Santos. They married in the Dominican Republic and eagerly welcomed their three children, Joe, Giovanni, and Jonathan. The family resided in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico throughout the 1980s, moving to San Diego, California during the 1990s and beyond.

Even her siblings had to admit that she was the favorite child, known as “la Niña”. Carrie, through and through a daddy’s girl, was lovingly bestowed by her father, “Don Popa” the nickname “Colón”. It seemed fitting, as she was the most beautiful discovery in all of the Americas.

When one thinks of Carrie, it is impossible to forget her everlasting and infectious joy, fabulous sense of humor, and inventive pranks. Carrie was the life of every party, a guiding and loving light for her family and friends, and a selfless and caring mother and grandmother (a role that gave her more pleasure than any other she played in her life). She taught her family many things, but, above all, how to love unconditionally and with no strings attached.

She excelled in humility, inner strength, and resilience– these characteristics, simply put, defined her. She always put others first and loved life passionately. These same attributes were a core part of her being, even carrying over in her work as an administrative assistant and HR specialist. Her final position was in the HR department of GBOD Hospitality Group, allowing her to work alongside her sons Joe and Jonathan among many other new and dear friends she inevitably found along the way.

She was our mom and our grandmother, not only to our family but to anyone who had the amazing fortune of having her be a part of their life. It was and is so important to her that we remember those amazing moments and keep them alive within ourselves and loved ones, and we are beyond thankful and humbled by the many messages and memories of love, support, and admiration. She truly was one of a kind and her memory will continue and be honored for the rest of our lives.

A repatriation service is being planned for this summer at her final resting place in Santo

Domingo, Dominican Republic. Per her wishes, she will be interred next to her parents, Esperanza (Fella) and Persio (Popa) Peña.