Ruth “Cuca” Hernandez

“Lord, I am not worth that you should enter under my roof, but only say the Word and my soul shall be healed.”

Ruth “Cuca” Hernandez, 87, of Bryan went to be with her Lord Jesus Christ on Sunday at her home. 

Services are set for 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 16, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Bryan where Monsignor John McCaffrey will officiate. Burial will follow in Mount Calvary Cemetery. Visitation was from 5-8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, at the church with a 7 p.m. rosary.

Ruth was born in Rogers to Marcelino and Lorenza Rivera on July 4, 1929, the youngest of five children. She graduated from Cameron High School in 1947, attended business college in Houston and has lived in Bryan most of her life. She was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church, of St. Teresa Catholic Church and of the “Guadalupanas.” She worked at Franklins Department Store and K Wolens Department Store in downtown Bryan. She worked at Walmart in Bryan for 20 years where she was the greeter with the biggest smile.

Ruth, her brothers Alejandro and Jose Antonio, as well as her two sisters, Maria and Guadalupe loved to go dancing on Friday or Saturday nights in Cameron and the neighboring towns of Rosebud and Taylor, always chaperoned by one of her brothers or their mother, Lorenza. 

She met the beau of her life, Bernabe “Ben” Hernandez. She often recalled, he was a strapping young man, extremely good looking and tall as a Texas Pecan Tree, at 6’2” and possibly a little taller on Friday and Saturday nights. They became like two lovebirds and married on July 18, 1953, upon his return from the Korean War. Mom was a devoted wife and mother but more importantly, she was a devout Catholic who took her faith very seriously. She often told us, “My faith in our Lord Jesus Christ is what sustains me and as Jesus carried his cross; I too will carry mine, each and every day of my life.”

She is preceded in death by her parents; husband, Bernabe “Ben” Hernandez; brothers, Alejandro Rivera, Jose Antonio Rivera; and sister, Guadalupe Flores.

Survivors include her sister, Maria Rivera of Houston; son, Louis Hernandez and wife Wanda; daughters, Anna Marie Mendez and husband Felix, Rebecca Ramirez, Yolanda Veronica Hernandez and Henry S. Johnson, and Kristen Elise Hernandez and husband Edgar; brothers-in-law, Esteban Hernandez and wife Josie, Marselo Hernandez and husband Cruz; sisters-in law, Isabel Rivera, Genobeba, Antonia and Ramon Castillo, Mary and Joe Garcia, and Linda Caballero; grandchildren, Marcelino Ramirez Jr., Daniel Rueda III, Laura Denise Rueda, Kristen Elise Hernandez, Magdalena Ramirez, Thomas B. Mendez, Luis G. Hernandez, Noah DeHolloz Jr., and Mariah R. DeHolloz; eight great-grandchildren, two great-great-grandchildren; her pet and companion, Kato.

We are already missing our beloved mother. She gave us all she had, tirelessly and unconditionally. May God grant her peace and eternal life, as He promises each and every one who accepts Him as Lord and Savior.

Memorials may be made to Hospice Brazos Valley.