Juanita Gloria was born in El Oro, Mexico, to Sostenes Castro and Piedad Mereles.  She was the youngest of five.  Her siblings are Sara, Federico, Victor and Pola.  She married Raul Carlos Mijares on April 30, 1952, in Mexico City. After the birth of their first child, Raul Jr, they immigrated to the United States and settled in Chicago, Illinois where Ricardo, Carolina, and Juanita were born.  Then in 1961, they moved to California where Jacqueline and Pablo were born.  After our Tia Marta went to be with the Lord, her children Juan Raul and Mario Hidalgo, came to live with us. 

Over the years our family flourised, and she was gifted with twenty grandchildren and eighteen great grandchildren. Juanita worked as a seamstress for Mattel and later retired as a supervisor for Kmart.  Her happiest moment were the births of each and every new baby that entered our family. She couldn't contain her joy! Family unity was her last wish and constant prayer.

Juanita touched the lives of many with her contagious sense of humor, her adorable accent, and her irrefutable sense of duty. If someone needed assistance she was there. Some of her difficult moments include leaving her mother and family in Mexico as a very young women to start a new life in this country, loosing our dad and then our sister, Juanita. Yet, she continued.

The greatest gifts she gave to our family are the gifts of faith, perserverance and courage throughout our entire lives.

We love you. We miss you. See you in Eternal Life.