Community mourns passing of veteran Bay Area journalist

Journalist Carmen Hernandez (left) with best friend, Gloria Navarrete. CONTRIBUTED

SAN FRANCISCO – Filipino American leaders are mourning the sudden passing of Carmen Hernandez, veteran journalist who wrote for the Guardian in the San Francisco Bay Area and a column about Bay Area Filipino Americans in the Philippine Star in Manila.

Prior to immigrating to California some four decades earlier Hernandez headed public relations for Jazzie, a premium apparel brand.

Hernandez passed away peacefully on the evening of October 20, 2021 surrounded by her three children in Sacramento.  She was diagnosed with leukemia a few weeks earlier.  She was 83.

Holy Mass will be offered for her at 10:30 am, Saturday, Oct. 30, at our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church on 1 Elmwood Dr., Daly City.  Father Rey Culaba will preside.  Lunch will follow at the church hall with Hernandez’s bosom friend Gloria “Goya” Navarrete preparing Hernandez’s favorite food.

“Everyone is invited to attend,” said Navarrete, who hosted Hernandez at her South San Francisco home for frequent bonding fortnights.

“We were shocked to hear of her serious illness,” Navarrete told Inquirer.net.  The two women belonged to a coterie that attended community events and traveled together until recently.

“We were a tight group that enjoyed supporting the same causes,” Navarrete described her friendship with community leaders Anita Sanchez and Erlinda Galeon, who lost their lives to cancer a few years apart.  “Now it’s just (former San Mateo County Commissioner on Aging) Marissa Robles and I.”

“Mameng” thrived in company and was quick to participate in socials.  When she began tiring easily and complained of weakness, ‘Goya” urged her to see her doctor.  Only then did they know the severity of her condition two weeks after her birthday.

Carmen Hernandez was born Oct. 5, 1938, according to Navarrete. She attended the University of Santo Tomas, where her father reportedly was a much-admired professor.  He inspired her and sister Alice H. Reyes to take up journalism, utilizing her keen observation and frank description of people and events.  In her new home in the Bay Area, she advocated for education, child safety, older adults and healthy relationships.

Friends and allies who would like to attend the memorial may call Goya Navarrete at (650)922-9192.