Obituary of Herman Pena

Life Legacy Herman Pena Jr., born August 28, 1946, in Crystal City, Texas. He passed away on July 6, 2017 after a long, courageous struggle with cancer and it's after-effects. He was born to Herman and Maria Pena. He was the eldest of 9 children. the family eventually moved and settled in Salinas, CA. He attended local schools, graduating from Salinas High, Hartnell Junior College and San Francisco State University. He was drafted by the military and served in the U.S. Army from 1972 to 1976. He spent his time as a Corpsman in the DaNang Valley, Vietnam with the 196th Infantry Brigade. He was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, Army Commendation Medal and Good Conduct Medal. He was eventually honorably discharged in 1976. He then started his career as a civil servant with the State of California working with the Employment Development Department (EDD). Upon his early retirement at age 55; he began his next phase of life. He enjoyed taking daily walks, going to the library to read the daily newspapers, going to the "buffets", keeping up with the latest political events, going to the movies on Senior Citizen's Day (Tuesdays) and spending time with family events. He enjoyed traveling with Marcia around the U.S., Hawaii, Alaska and Latin America. He loved to go on his ship cruises; which he would always say, "I highly recommend it"... He is survived by his siblings, Florence (Manuel) Alvarado, Berta (Oscar) Valdez, Azalia and Linda Pena, Rosie (Ruben) Nunez and Diane (Jorge) Vargas. He is also survived by his long-time girlfriend, Marcia McDonald. "Tio Nane" leaves his nephews, nieces, grandnephews, grandnieces; Ann Marie Valdez and her children, Jacob, Jared, Jason and Julie; Oscar Valdez Jr. (Amalia) and their sons, Oscar Jr. and Jesse; Marcos Valdez and his daughters, Leah and Lola; Rena Alvarado her daughter, Ava; Felipe (Stacy) Tabera and their son, Xavier; Nick and Benjamin Vargas and Raquel Nunez. He is preceded in death by, his sister, Sylvia Pena, little brother, Benito Pena and his parents, Herman and Maria Pena. Burial/Interment with Military Honors will take place on Saturday, July 15, 2017 11am at the Garden of Memories Cemetery 850 Abbott St. Salinas, CA 93901. A reception and celebration of life will follow; location will be announced at cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made to the American Cancer Society and/or Vietnam Veterans Association and/or the USO.