Juanita Luna was born on a Thursday, 4 Oct 1934 in East Chicago, IN to Simon and Nicolasa Luna. By Feb. 1939, the Luna's had four children: Gloria (6), Juanita (4), William (2) and Simon, Jr. (9 months). That month, the Luna children were placed in an orphanage. Their mother was killed at the hands of her husband, Simon. The State of Indiana soon after gave guardianship to a distant cousin of Simon's, Tomasa Garza. She was a single parent with three daughters. Tomasa and her daughters relocated to East Chicago to raise the Luna children. Eventually, she also gained guardianship of another child, Donna.

In June 2, 1956 Juanita married Vicente Pena Cavazos and made her home at 1216 Espinosa, Corpus Christi, TX. Here she raised her children. In 1962 her first child, Estella, died at home in a tragic accident. A sorrow she beared the rest of her life.

She was a homemaker and devoted her life to raising her family. Her hobbies included flower arranging, cake decorating, croching, knitting, and ceramics. Mother spent many quiet evening tending to her plants in her green house and rose bushes. She was known for her big flour tortillas. She also enjoyed watching wrestling and her boys play sports.

Her husband, Vicente, died ten years later on 16 Jan 1995.

(As of Sept. 2007 survived by her children: Sandra (Santiago) Hernandez; Vicente (Ruth) Cavazos, Joe (Velma)Cavazos, Paul (Diane) Cavazos, and Steve (Linda) Cavazos. Grandchildren: Joshua Eli Cavazos, Gabriel & Marisa Hernandez; Vicente, III, Vance Marcus, and Eric Cavazos; Joe Henry Cavazos; Mercedez Cavazos; and Melanie and Steven Cavazos. Also survived by great-grandchildren: Joshua Eli Cavazos, II and Lillian Pearl Cavazos.

Also survived by sisters: Gloria Cavazos and Aurora Winterroth of Corpus Christi, Donna Harris of East Chicago, and Rosa Navarro of Laredo. A brother: William Luna of Chicago, IL.

Mother's faith in the Lord helped her struggles with cancer the last years of her life.