Virginia Marquez Magaña

Virginia Marquez Magana was born in Whittier, CA on December 22nd, 1935, to Frank and Frances Marquez, the fourth child of seven. Virginia was raised on the Marquez Family ranch, where she learned to garden, care for the farm animals, cook, and clean. She spent her days with her siblings, parents, and many cousins at the family ranch, playing in the fields and helping her parents around the house and ranch. Her father, Frank, taught her and her siblings to care for the land, grow and harvest crops. Their family ranch was on Dunlap Crossing by the San Gabriel River, then moved to Santa Fe Springs. Virginia attended Los Nietos School, where she met her life-long love, Ruben Rodelo Magana in 1947 at the age of 12. She and Ruben would remain friends for years before marrying in 1958. Virginia graduated from Whittier High School in 1954. She enjoyed her time at Whittier High, attending football games at Whittier College; she was a proud Cardinal. Virginia had three daughters, Frances, Margaret, and Rosemary. In 1975, the Magana family moved from the Marquez Family Ranch to their own home in Whittier, just a mile down the road from “the ranch”. Virginia and her daughters continued to work at the family business, “The Corn Stand”, for years until it closed in 1994. At her core, Virginia was a caretaker to not only her immediate family, but to every single person that she encountered. If you visited her home, you would be offered more food than you could ever want, and even more food to take home too. She was the most giving and selfless person, always offering whatever she had to help others in need. One of her signature acts was to constantly ask if you were hungry, thirsty, or needed a sweater. Another was that she called every member of her immediate and extended family on their birthday to wish them well; she never forgot anyone’s birthday until her Alzheimer’s diagnosis eventually took this precious trait from her in her final years. Not only was she the most loving mother, she was even more giving and generous as a grandmother. She loved all seven of her grandchildren and all six of her great-grandchildren with all of her heart and soul. She not only told her grandchildren often how much she loved them, but showed them with her actions. She attended all events, big and small, for her grandkids; from preschool Christmas programs, to sporting and musical events in high school, she was ever present, with flowers, cards and gifts. Grandma Virginia lived a long and wonderful life in which she not only poured love onto everyone around her, but was also deeply loved by all who knew her. She passed peacefully at the home she shared with her husband Ruben, surrounded by her daughters, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Only four months after the passing of her beloved husband Ruben, she went to Heaven to rest in eternal peace with the love of her life