With great love and heartfelt remembrance, the family of Luciana “Chana” Valenzuela announces her peaceful passing on August 19, 2026, in Alpine, Texas. Born on June 9, 1932, in the warm, close-knit community of Terlingua, Texas, Luciana's life became a tapestry woven with resilience, devotion, and boundless affection, all of which rippled through each generation she embraced.

Luciana—cherished by so many as “Chana” or lovingly called “Granny”—lived her years with an open heart and gentle spirit. She was the sunlight in her family’s days, her wisdom flickering in stories told around dinner tables, her care evident in every guiding hand and quiet sacrifice. From the rugged beauty of Terlingua where she first drew breath, to the hills of Alpine where her journey gently ended, Luciana’s presence was a thread of constancy and warmth.

She was the beloved daughter of Julio and Patricia Valenzuela, both preceding her in death. In her youth she was surrounded by a large, loving family that included her siblings, many of whom she has now joined in eternal rest: her brothers, Vicente, Ponfilo, and Gregorio Valenzuela; and her sisters, Epifania Valenzuela, Felicita Alvarez, Dora Garza, Pema Mata, Lydia Porras, and Francisca Matta. Each sibling shared a childhood rich in joy and adversity, laying the foundation for Luciana’s lifelong strength and compassion.

Family was the true center of Luciana’s world. Surviving her are her loving son, Henry Valenzuela (Monica), and devoted daughter, Ruth Spitzer (Paul). Luciana’s home was always open, her table welcoming, her arms ever ready to hold a child or grandchild close. Her grandchildren—Martin Acosta, Jose Apolinar, Frank Apolinar III, Mario Piñedo, and Wendy Gusman—were her pride and joy, each carrying forward a spark of their Granny’s kindness, humor, and resilience.

Luciana’s story was written not only in milestones but in everyday acts of love: in lullabies sung over small cribs, tamales rolled alongside laughter at the kitchen counter, and steady guidance through life’s tempests and triumphs. To her family, she was a fortress—steady, sheltering, and always wise with near-mythical advice. To her friends and neighbors, she was an unfailing source of generosity and encouragement.

Her legacy will live on in the values she cultivated: compassion, perseverance, and the deep understanding that family—connected not only by blood but by choice—shapes our truest stories. Those who knew her, whether as Chana, Luciana, or Granny, will miss her uniquely gentle voice and loving embrace, but will carry her memory in each kind gesture and warm gathering.

A visitation to honor Luciana’s life will be held on August 13, 2026, from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Alpine Memorial Funeral Home, 209 W Sul Ross Ave, Alpine, TX. Loved ones will gather for a memorial service on August 14, 2026, at 10:00 AM at Grace Christian Fellowship Church, 801 E. Brown Avenue, Alpine, TX. Interment will follow at Holy Angels Cemetery, E Avenue I, Alpine, TX, beginning at 11:15 AM.

Pallbearers for the service will be: Abraham Yniguez, Jose Apolinar Jr., David Acosta, Ethan Apolinar and Adriel Valenzuela. Honorary pallbearers are Martin Acosta, Jose Apolinar, Mario Piñedo, Frank Apolinar III, and Angel David Guzman.

As the sun sets behind the mountains she so loved, Luciana Valenzuela’s family and friends join together in gratitude for the countless gifts she provided—a legacy of unity, strength, and love everlasting.