Aurora Vasquez Canha

Aurora grew up in San Antonio, Texas, the eldest of nine siblings and went to David Barkley Elementary School, Ivanhoe Elementary School, Rhodes Middle School, Edgewood Middle School, and graduated from Edgewood High School. She was baptized at Immaculate Heart of Mary and had her First Communion at Christ the King. Growing up she enjoyed fishing at the neighborhood creek and going to the middle school football games with her sisters and friends.

As a mother, Aurora was devoted to providing for her children and being a homemaker her entire life. She was very protective of her children, and always ready to give some of that San Antonio, Texas attitude to anyone who messed with her or her family passing through Alaska during the wild days of the pipeline boom. Boy, could she curse someone out good both in English and Spanish!

Aurora loved to go thrifting every weekend during the long and beautiful Alaska summers. She loved getting up early before everyone else to go to all the weekend garage sales shopping for clothes, furniture, and toys for her family, meeting people and making new friends along the way. She was known as the Garage-Sale-Queen and really knew how to haggle for a good price. She also enjoyed having her own yard or porch sales and somehow always made an eye-popping amount of money doing it. Also, during the summer she would love to plant and grow big, beautiful orange Marigolds and water our giant rhubarb plant. During the winter she enjoyed baby-sitting for busy families and neighbors.

She loved to talk on the phone and was always laughing and having fun with her friends and family. Aurora loved to shop and eat out, her favorite place being the Golden Corral in Anchorage where they always made her feel special there.

She and her husband Frank P. Canha (now divorced) made a cozy home for our family in the challenging cold of Fairbanks, and Anchorage, Alaska starting in the late 60s. She returned to San Antonio in May of 2024 to be with her sister Elvira.

Elvira and her most loving and caring family, Jerry, Julieanne, and Elizabeth, provided extraordinarily great care of Aurora in her final years. Our family will be forever grateful for their hearts of gold limitless patience.

She is preceded in death by her mother Elvira Medina (née Vasquez), father Jesse Medina, and sisters, Norma Flores, Rebecca Sanchez, and brother George and wife Carmen Medina.

She is survived by her children, Frank J. Canha and wife Dinna Domdom, Robert J. Canha, Dyane C. Jurowski (née Canha) and her husband Rafal Jurowski;

her grandchildren Emily and Jack Rode, Serene Nago, Frankie D. Canha, and Adrian Jurowski;

her loving brothers and sisters Gloria and Ernest Carson, Olga and Albert Castaño (R.I.P.), Jesse and Angelina (R.I.P.) Medina, Elvira and Arthur (R.I.P.) Vidal, and Albert Medina.

Her long-time friends from Fairbanks were she began her family life were Mildred Patty, Carol McMillan, Richard and Katherine Webb, Ron and Sarah Eckley, Mari who now lives in Florida, and Chris Duffy who now lives in Texas.

Pallbearers for her funeral will be, her youngest sibling Albert “Babo” Medina, nephews Christopher and Albert “Junior” Castaño, Alfonso “Ponchito” Flores Jr., and her sons Frank “John-John”, and Robert Canha.

We will hold dear to our heart the values she instilled in us and remember her caring and generous and forgiving spirit. She was loved and will be profoundly missed and will forever remain in our hearts. Rest in eternal peace, Mom. We All love you! <3