Jovita G. Alejo Hernandez

Jovita was born on February 15, 1936 at home on Linden Street in Oakland, California. She was the daughter of Jose and Juanita Alejo. Jovita was raised in Oakland, California with four siblings. She had one older brother, Sal and two older sisters, Alice and Angie and one younger brother Juan. As a young girl, Jovita had a number of interests and was an active child. Jovita found it easy to show sympathy and to perform kind acts for others. These admirable qualities would become a part of Jovita’s personality throughout her life.

One thing that Jovita will certainly be remembered for is that, when she got up in the mornings, she was ready and raring to go. She graduated from Holy Names High School in 1954.

Jovita was dependable, loyal, and trustworthy. She was the kind of person who simply radiated good fellowship. While she maintained personal standards and her own personal values, Jovita was very accepting of others. Jovita was often the person who would organize events. In fact, Jovita was fairly comfortable playing the role of “host” for just about any occasion. When Jovita made friends, she made true and lasting friendships. While growing up, some of her best friends were Lydia Guerra, Juanita Henderson and Jeannette Mossino.

Jovita was a faithful and loving person. Some would even call her sentimental and a romantic at heart. Her kindness and consideration radiated an aura of warmth to those around her. On June 2, 1957 Jovita married Joseph Munoz Hernandez at St. Joseph’s Church of Oakland, California. Compassionate and devoted, Jovita worked hard to make her life partner happy.

Harmony was important to Jovita and she made every effort to maintain it with her family. Jovita was blessed with four daughters, Kathy, Teresa, Trina, and Patricia. She was also blessed with ten grandchildren, Leticia, Michael, Juanita, Caesar, Alisha, Andrea, Angelia, Anjelica, Vanessa and Anthony as well as one great granddaughter, Isabella. She made a special effort to spend quality one on one time with each of her children and grandchildren. She treasured their lunch dates and special outings.

Taking her work seriously came naturally to Jovita, and she expected the same from those around her. Jovita was a good team player, someone who was born to cooperate with others. She was what some would call a “people person.” Her primary occupation was a cafeteria lunch assistant at St. Bernard’s School in Oakland and a sales clerk at the Post Exchange on Oakknoll Naval Base in Oakland, California. She was employed for about eight years at St. Bernard’s Grammar School and for ten years at Oakknoll Navy Base in Oakland. She brought harmony to her work environment, doing what was necessary in order to get the job done, while always maintaining respect for her colleagues.

Her keen interest in things that affected the lives of other people led Jovita to become actively involved in community organizations. Jovita did her share of volunteer work. Religion and faith were important to her. She was a member of St. Leander’s Catholic Church for 30 years. During that time she was a volunteer where ever she was needed. Her favorite pursuit was volunteering for St. Vincent de Paul distributing food and clothing to the needy. Jovita enjoyed spending time working on her various hobbies such as sewing outfits for her girls, dancing, listening to music and tending to her garden.

Jovita enjoyed traveling and rarely tired of going back and revisiting her favorite places. Favorite vacations included Hawaii, Canada and Europe as well as many locations in California with her loving husband and daughters.

Since it was easy for Jovita to meet and get to know new people, she quickly made friends. Jovita retired in 1992 and even in retirement, she stayed in touch with her old friends. She loved sharing stories and talking about the good old days. She was active in the community and felt fulfilled with the opportunities that retirement offered her.

Jovita passed away on May 21, 2009 at home in San Leandro, California surrounded by her loving family. She is survived by her daughters Kathy, Teresa, Trina and Patricia; her ten grandchildren, Leticia, Michael, Juanita, Caesar, Alisha, Andrea, Angelia, Anjelica, Vanessa and Anthony as well as her great granddaughter Isabella. Family and friends will remember her kind and generous spirit. Everyone whose life she touched will truly miss Jovita G. Hernandez.

Services were held at St. Leander’s Catholic Church. Jovita was laid to rest in Holy Sepulchre Catholic Cemetery.