[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 68 (Thursday, May 17, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E830-E831]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        TRIBUTE TO THE LATE MARGARET VILLAGRAN (SIERRA) MELENDEZ

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JOE BACA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 16, 2001

  Mr. BACA. Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I note the 
passing of Margaret Villagran (Sierra) Melendez, the mother of Ruby 
Ramirez on my staff.
  Margaret was born to Milton Villagran & Juanita Palacios on June 10, 
1910 in El Paso, Texas. She was the 15th child of a family of 17. Her 
father was employed for Santa Fe until he died in 1917. Her mother was 
a housewife for the most part, and followed her husband wherever he was 
sent. She did the laundry for the work crews at the different sites 
that they were assigned to.
  Margaret came to California at the age of 10 with her sister who was 
17. Her brothers were working at the Jurupa Quary in South Fontana and 
her sister came to work as a housekeeper for one of the owners of a 
winery in Guasti. They had to leave their mother behind until they had 
enough money to relocate them to California which was about two years 
later. She attended an elementary school named ``Wineville'' later 
changed to Guasti.
  Margaret dropped out of school at 14 and went to live with her 
brother, Albert Villagran in Orange, CA. She was bilingual and went to 
work for Woolworths as a sales girl. Later she worked at the Hunts Co. 
and Sunkist Packing House. She came back to Fontana when she was 18 and 
met her husband, Pete Sierra. They got married and moved to Colton in 
1927. They bought a house at 965 Jefferson Lane and she lived there 
until she was hospitalized.
  Tragically, her first husband was killed in 1956 by a drunk driver. 
She was a widow for 19 years and then she remarried Frank Melendez in 
1977. Frank and Margaret had dated before she married Pete. 32 years 
later, they met and got married. He died in 1999.
  Margaret was a loving caring mother to everyone. Everyone that came 
to her house was welcome and the first thing she did was feed them. She 
was active in the Heart Association and once a year took care of 
collecting funds for the Heart Foundation. She volunteered for the 
Cancer Association, VFW, PTA, and was a member of San Salvador Catholic 
Church. She liked to work in her garden and cook on her wooden stove 
whenever she had a chance. Her house was a regular soup kitchen. Her 
house was located between the Union Pacific and the Southern Pacific 
Railroads. Every person that got off the train came knocking on her 
door and they never went away hungry.
  Margaret never missed an election. She made sure that she had her 
absentee ballot. She was a good listener, helped wherever she was 
needed and never complained even with all the hardships she encountered 
throughout

[[Page E831]]

her life. Everyone called her ``Grandma Margaret.''
  Margaret leaves behind five daughters, Tillie Rodriguez, Ruby 
Ramirez, Mary Ramirez, Lorraine Chavez, JoAnn Beckman; and five sons, 
Pete Sierra Jr., Charlie Sierra, Amador Sierra, Johnny Sierra, and Joe 
Madrigal; sixty-five grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
  I extend to the family my condolences and wish blessings to them in 
their time of mourning. We say, ``goodbye, we miss you, God bless.''

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