Herminia B Brown

Our mother, Herminia B. Brown, was born in Miranda city, Texas to her parents, Aurora Villareal and George Barfield. She was born on December 24, 1937; she entered glory on April 29, 2022. Her life as a child was not easy. She worked the fields and went to school. By the 8th grade she had to choose to continue with school or eat. She chose to take care of her brothers and eat. Dropping out of school in the 8th grade did not stop her, however. She went on to marry and have six children. Life would not improve though and her marriage ended bringing on a new husband and three more children. Many would say my mother was unlucky in love and that would be true, but she was not without love. She devoted herself to her children. Even though miles separated her with some of them she loved us all unconditionally. With her 8th grade education my mother read everything she could, including dictionaries and encyclopedias. She got her GED without any help from anyone and without taking any additional classes. She worked very hard to provide for us. When she became a single mom, she worked two and three jobs to provide enough for us. She worked at the State Hospital and at Twin Cities Hospital. After she retired, she supervised a crew at Hearst Castle. Our mother was incredibly strict and held us to a standard that was hard to live up to, but we are the men and women we are today because of it. If she was here today, we would all thank her again. We would thank her for expecting a lot from us, for teaching us to work hard, and for loving us so completely. Life with our mom was hard, we didn’t have a lot of money and rarely had extra for anything but that did not stop our mom from giving us a good life. She told us we may be poor, but it is never an excuse to be dirty or unkept. And we weren’t, ever. My mom had a way of making us feel loved and special. She took us on long walks and when she got her license we went camping and hiking and for long drives, and of course we spent a lot of time at the beach because our mom adored the ocean. Our mom was a lover of music. We were exposed to all sorts of music from very young ages. In fact, mom often put a little radio in our cribs with us and let music soothe us. I can remember dancing as we did chores or just hanging around the house. And music and dancing were always a part of our parties and cook outs at the park. Wow was our mom was an amazing cook! All our holidays and celebrations were brought together by her food. When she made tortillas and chicken and rice it was like a hug for our tummies. Seriously, it did not matter what she cooked it was amazing. Her kitchen was always open to our friends as well, even salesman that came to the door were offered a cool drink and what ever she had going on the stove. We learned generosity from our mom, a gift I pray I am passing on to my own children. Her generosity stretched to our community and country as well. She helped prepare food for the homeless on holidays, volunteered at Echo church to help shower and feed the homeless, she collected and sent clothes and supplies to New Orleans after Katrina hit, never passed a soldier without stopping to shake their hand and thank them for their service and was always available for her elderly friends. Was quick to give rides for medical appointments, to get groceries or run errands, she also would just sit and visit for hours weekly to help ease their loneliness. I cannot give account for countless times she was there to help her kids and grandkids. Even in her complex the children loved her. They would knock on her door, and she would have candy and little toys for them. A grandma to all.

She once asked us what we thought her legacy would be. Her legacy is an enormous work ethic, her legacy is the children she raised, the house she kept, her legacy is the elegance she carried herself with, her legacy is enduring grace through every thing life put in front of her, her legacy is love. Our mother was a strong woman and the only thing stronger than her resolve was her faith. She loved the Lord deeply. We were all instilled with that respect and faith. She prayed for everything, endlessly. The love for God she held fell into every aspect of her life. She rejoiced with others, mourned with others, triumphed with others and held others above herself always. This world is a little heavier without our mom in it, and heaven is a little happier since receiving her.

Our mother is survived by her daughters: Sylvia, Minerva, Kimberly and Angela. By her sons: Johnny, Alex and Mike. She is preceded in death by two of her beloved children: Ino and Bella. She is survived by her many grandchildren: Albert Jr, Ruben, Maria Christina, Carlos, Aisha, Macy, Briana, Sandra, Alex Jr, Brianda, Lizzette, Eddie, Daniella, Stephanie, Jacob, Michelle, Ashley, Anthony, Windi, Scott, Anika, Bella, Marshawn, Payton, Natasha, Mason, and Vincent. She is preceded in death by her granddaughters: Amanda and Brianna and her grandson, Dillon. She is survived by her great grandchildren: James, Belen, Jose, Angel, Luna, Suzana, Ashley, Chelsea, Caroleana, Christa, Vincent, Corey, Trey, Caryssa, Corey, Jordyn, Xavier, Christopher, Alex III, Amoriya, Jodeci, Jazmine, Jacob, Olivia, Myles, Joseph, Jason, Joel, Valen, Daeson, Vaeda, Edward Jr, Julia, Mason, Bradley, Emma, Clayton, Jocelyn, Khloe, Harley, Wessley, Ry-Ry, Frankie Aliyana, Jaiden, Noah, Michael, Jazlynn, Avery, and Grayson. She is preceded in death by her great grandson, Rhythm. She will soon be great grandma again to Ophelia!

Viewing Friday June 3rd, 4 p.m.- 8 p.m. at the Kuehl-Nicolay Funeral Home.

Funeral service: Saturday June 4th at 10 a.m. at the Kuehl-Nicolay Funeral Home 1703 Spring Street, Paso Robles California 93446.

There will be a reception to follow at 1 p.m. at the Vintage Community Church 692 Peterson Ranch Road, Templeton California 93465.