Courtesy photo
The Tejano music community mourns the loss of Criselida “Cris” Cantu Hernandez, the beloved wife of music legend Little Joe, who passed away peacefully at her home in Temple, Texas, on the morning of Thursday, October 10, 2024. Known affectionately as the ‘First Lady of La Familia,’ Cris was 86 years old.
Born on August 7, 1938, in Skidmore, Texas, Cris was the third of four children. She graduated from Temple High School and worked various jobs before dedicating her life to her family. Starting at age ten, Cris worked alongside her family in migrant work, picking cotton and pecans in West Texas. She also helped her mother by cleaning rooms at the Oasis Hotel in Skidmore. After high school, she worked at the Curtis Shoe Factory and briefly trained as a nurse, a skill she would use to care for her family throughout her life.
Cris was an avid sports fan, never missing a game of her favorite teams—the Houston Astros, Dallas Cowboys, and Texas Longhorns. She also enjoyed competitive barrel racing, softball, and bowling, and was a passionate bingo player at the American Legion.
Cris met her husband Joe in 1955 at a festival in Cameron, Texas. They married in 1962 and spent sixty-nine years together, sixty-two of them as husband and wife. Cris played a crucial role in Joe’s music career, serving as president of their record label, Leona Records, and co-founding their publishing company, DeLeon Publishing. She co-founded Little Joe and The Latinaires, which later became Little Joe Y La Familia. In the early days, she was the costumer and seamstress for the band.
Photos courtesy of Ramon Hernandez Archives
Cris is survived by her husband, Jose Maria DeLeon Hernandez, their four children Ivan Hernandez, Criselda Cruz, Isaac Hernandez, and Demetrias Hernandez, her four grandchildren Amber Carnathan, Joshua Hernandez, Catalina Cruz, and Jazzmeen Hernandez, her three step-grandchildren Jennifer Manriquez, Josie Garay, and Greg Saldaña, her eight great-grandchildren, her seven step great-grandchildren, and her brother Leonel Cantu. She is preceded in death by her parents Manuel and Hermina Cantu, and her sisters Estella Soto and Angie Allen.
The family extends special thanks to Nicole, Christi, Krystal, and Tamara at Gentiva Hospice for their excellent care, and to Dr. Alan Gowan for his years of dedicated care.
Criselida “Cris” Cantu Hernandez | Courtesy photo
Visitation will be held on Wednesday, October 23, 2024, at 5 PM at Harper-Talasek Funeral Home in Temple. A church service will follow on Thursday, October 24, 2024, at 10:30 AM at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. A private interment will be held at a later date.
“We so deeply miss our wife, mother, grandma, sister, aunt, friend, protector, and angel. We can so vividly hear her loud laughter, her cheering for her sports teams, her singing and hooting as she danced, and her life guidance that she provided her family with. Nosotros te amamos, Cris,” the family shared in a heartfelt statement.
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