In Memory
Deacon John Hubert “Canica” Limón was raised in the barrio of East Austin. As a child, he sold newspapers and shined shoes for five cents a pair. When he became older, he would borrow a truck, pick up scrap wood at the local lumber yard, and sell it to women in the community for their fires.
Deacon John remembers a certain Daughter of Charity who, dressed in her wimple and veil, would sing and bring food to his family. He would later visit the local Seton Hospital simply to share the nun’s joy and love of God. He recalls that his baptismal godparents, Pedro & Petra López, shared a similar love for God.
As a young man, Deacon John served in the military and started a family. Ever the entrepreneur, he owned a bar, a cocktail lounge, and a dance hall. He readily shares the story of his vocation to ministry in the Church. In an incredible conversion story, he shares of how he asked for God’s help to turn away from former vices. For years, he told his wife: “One of these days, I will quit these habits: the drinking, smoking, coming in late, and all that.” She assured him he would, in his own time. He continues the story: “One Sunday, I was at church, and I asked God for just a little bit of help to change my habits, and [if God helped me to change] I promised I would help serve the community one hour a week. Like that, my habits were gone! Monday and Tuesday came and I went out in the community to pray. I let it come from my heart. Before I knew it, I was on call 24/7. I would pray for the sick. I would serve as an altar server. I joined the Knights of Columbus. I helped with the Youth and the Ladies’ Auxiliary, and I joined a breakfast group.” After his conversion, Deacon John’s friends would remark, “If [he] can make it, anyone can make it!”
On March 31, 2014, Deacon John was ordained to the diaconate in the Catholic Church by Archbishop William Johnson. After nearly seven years of faithful, joyful ministry at Holy Family, Deacon John went to his heavenly reward on February 7, 2021, a victim of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Deacon John remembers a certain Daughter of Charity who, dressed in her wimple and veil, would sing and bring food to his family. He would later visit the local Seton Hospital simply to share the nun’s joy and love of God. He recalls that his baptismal godparents, Pedro & Petra López, shared a similar love for God.
As a young man, Deacon John served in the military and started a family. Ever the entrepreneur, he owned a bar, a cocktail lounge, and a dance hall. He readily shares the story of his vocation to ministry in the Church. In an incredible conversion story, he shares of how he asked for God’s help to turn away from former vices. For years, he told his wife: “One of these days, I will quit these habits: the drinking, smoking, coming in late, and all that.” She assured him he would, in his own time. He continues the story: “One Sunday, I was at church, and I asked God for just a little bit of help to change my habits, and [if God helped me to change] I promised I would help serve the community one hour a week. Like that, my habits were gone! Monday and Tuesday came and I went out in the community to pray. I let it come from my heart. Before I knew it, I was on call 24/7. I would pray for the sick. I would serve as an altar server. I joined the Knights of Columbus. I helped with the Youth and the Ladies’ Auxiliary, and I joined a breakfast group.” After his conversion, Deacon John’s friends would remark, “If [he] can make it, anyone can make it!”
On March 31, 2014, Deacon John was ordained to the diaconate in the Catholic Church by Archbishop William Johnson. After nearly seven years of faithful, joyful ministry at Holy Family, Deacon John went to his heavenly reward on February 7, 2021, a victim of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mary Lou Pina worked with Father Jayme Mathias and Father Roy Gomez to co-found Holy Family Catholic Church in March 2012. From the very first Sunday in which the community gathered, Mary Lou was in the kitchen, preparing breakfast tacos for all who were present. For nearly nine years, Mary Lou was a faithful servant at Holy Family, regularly preparing parish breakfasts, sharing her famous brisket tacos at parish festivals, coordinating the more than 1,000 funeral rosaries prayed by the parish’s St. Francis of Assisi Joy Group, and opening her home for dinner and meetings by parish clergy and seminarians. Mary Lou went to her heavenly reward on February 7, 2021, the very same day as Deacon John, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. She will always be remembered as a good and faithful servant (Mt. 25:23) of the Lord and of God’s people.
