Mariana Colon Guerra

MARIANA COLÓN GUERRA CLAYTON, NC — Mariana Colón Guerra, beloved mother, grandmother, and sister, passed away peacefully on July 17, 2014 at the age of 83 in Clayton, North Carolina. One of thirteen children, she was born on April 20, 1931 in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico to Tomas Colón and Bernarda Rivera Colón, where her father was an evangelical Christian pastor and a sugarcane/tobacco plantation farmer. She met her devoted husband, Ciro Guerra, in Chicago, Illinois in 1954, where they soon married. In 1969, she and her husband moved from Elgin, Illinois to Pharr, Texas, where they proudly raised their seven children. She and her family eventually moved to Red Gate, Texas, where they resided until Ciro’s death on May 29, 2002. Mariana then moved to Clayton, North Carolina to live with four of her seven children. Mariana was a proud homemaker and a faithful Christian woman, frequently reading her Bible, listening to Christian music, and praying. She is survived by her loving children and their spouses, Ciro (Donna Pearce) Guerra Jr. of Clayton, North Carolina; Guadalupe(Patrice Wetherill) Guerra of Bentonville, Arkansas; Reinaldo (Sandra) Guerra of McAllen, Texas; Ricardo Guerra of Austin, Texas; and José Guerra, Yolanda (Brad Brown) Guerra, and Gloria Guerra, all of Clayton, North Carolina. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Jason (Rebecca) Guerra of Pharr, Texas; Ciro Thomas (Yvonne) Guerra of Austin, Texas; Angela (Lupe) Guerra of Donna, Texas; Kristalee Guerra (Daniel) Mata and Gina Guerra (Gabriel) Garza of McAllen, Texas; Michael Guerra of Paris, Texas; José Guerra, Jr. of Garner, North Carolina; Kayla and Justin Hart of Clayton, North Carolina; and nine great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her siblings, Suriel (Haydeé) Colón of Lakeland, Florida; Dalila Colón Encarnacion of Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico; Dámaris (Hector) Perez of Orlando, Florida; Othoniel (Wanda) Colón, and María (Pedro de Juan) Crespo, both of Manatí, Puerto Rico. A memorial service for Mariana will take place at 9 a.m. on Friday, July 25, 2014, at Memorial Funeral Home in San Juan. Interment of her cremated remains will immediately follow at Roselawn Cemetery in McAllen. Funeral services are under the direction of Memorial Funeral Home in San Juan.