'LOVING, FUNNY AND TENDER' SHE WAS A MOTHER WHOSE HEART 'HAD ROOM FOR EVERYONE'.

Byline: Holly J. Andres Staff Writer

Her family will remember her sense of humor, her strength of character and her kindness.

Josefa Canales, a resident of Pacoima since 1959, died of lung cancer on Feb. 19 in her home. She was 85.

``There is no award for being good, but, if there were, she would get it,'' said her nephew, Ray Lopez. ``She never had a cross word for anyone. She had a mellow personality. She was religious, and she volunteered a lot at Guardian Angel (Catholic Church).''

Lopez recalled that his aunt took him in when he ran away from home briefly as a youngster.

``She opened her house to me and persuaded me to go home even though I was afraid to,'' Lopez said. ``She was like a second mother to me. She could keep secrets, my secrets. She was big-hearted, kind-hearted. I loved her.''

Josefa De Jesus Torres, the ninth of 12 children, was born Feb. 16, 1920, in El Paso. She quit school to pick cotton to earn money for the family. She was married in 1947. Canales moved to Pacoima after her husband died in 1956.

``She only had a fourth-grade education,'' said her daughter Guadalupe Canales, the senior librarian at the Sun Valley Branch Library. ``She was not smart in terms of book learning, but she knew right from wrong and she was really, really into education.

``She was a room mother when I was in school, and she always active in our schools.''

A casual remark about ``being dumb'' had a lifelong effect on Canales, her daughter said. Canales had been known to say, ``How could someone so dumb have smart children?''

``She was the kindest, sweetest person,'' Guadalupe Canales said. ``If you were with her for 15 minutes, she would call you 'mija' and offer you a bean burrito if that was all she had in the house. No matter what time of day, she would say, 'Let me get you something to eat.' She was very homey. She was loving, funny and tender. Mom had a heart that had room for everyone.''

Her tortillas, hot and fresh off the griddle, ``would make you feel you were in heaven.'' Her red chili salsa, known by some as ``asbestos chili,'' and her special macaroni and cheese made with tomato sauce and oregano were mandatory dishes at her favorite holiday, Thanksgiving.

Canales loved red carnations and the scent of tuberoses. She enjoyed doing word search puzzles, crochet and other needlework arts. Listening to mariachi music and watching ``chick flicks'' put a smile on her face. She told stories as she taught her daughter to cook. She was her happiest when surrounded by her family.

``My mother taught me to have respect for myself as a person,'' Guadalupe Canales said. ``She said, don't expect people to hand you things. She taught me to be honest. She said if you lie, it's like a hole in a tortilla. If you try to patch it, the hole will stretch and break into other holes. She said you never go wrong if you tell the truth.''

Canales is survived by a son, Benigno ``Benny'' Canales, and her daughter, Guadalupe Canales; three grandchildren, Barbara Meis, Robert Canales and Monica Canales; and three great-grandchildren.

A funeral Mass was held at Guardian Angel Catholic Church in Pacoima on Friday. Canales was buried at San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Mission Hills. J.T. Oswald Mortuary in San Fernando handled the arrangements.

Donations in her memory may be designated to the building fund at Guardian Angel Catholic Church, 10886 Lehigh Ave., Pacoima 91331-2514 or sent to the American Cancer Society.

Holly Andres, [phone]

holly.andres(at)dailynews.com

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