Juanita "Janie" Alaniz

Juanita ‘Janie’ Alaniz

Psalm 73:26 “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”Janie Alaniz was called home to the arms of her lord and savior, Jesus Christ, July 11th, 2025.

She was born in Edinburg, TX on October 18th, 1950 to her parents Natalia and Ramon who came to this country from Guanajuato,Mexico dreaming of better opportunities for their children. Janie was able to help fulfill those dreams by graduating from Edinburg High school in 1970, and then by going on to receive a bachelor’s and master’s from UT PanAm and having a long professional career.

While Janie’s professional life was important to her, it didn’t hold a candle to her personal life. She met and married the love of her life, Gilbert Alaniz, and they had three much loved sons together. She also had a large extended family that was important to her all of her days.

Additionally she had many friends and was very active in her church.

She is preceded in death by her parents, husband Gilbert, son Lucas, and brothers Ralph and Rene.

She is survived by her son Gilbert III ‘Sonny’ (wife Sonia) and their children Samara and Sienna; her son Ricco (wife Heather) and their children Aydin, Isabella, and Isaac; Lucas’s wife Lauren and their children Lily, Noelle, and Mary; her brothers, sisters, and many nieces and nephews; and many other family members and friends.

If she could give advice to everyone she would say to put your faith and trust in the Lord.

Janie was a woman whose education and professional career was important to her.

She graduated from Edinburg High School in 1970 and then went onto UT PanAm (as it was then known) to get her Bachelor’s in Psychology and her Master’s in Education in their counseling and guidance program.

She had many jobs and professional roles in her life.

In her earlier life Janie worked as a Health Rehabilitation Research Assistant at UT Pan Am and then later as a Biofeedback Therapist and Stress and Pain Management Counselor at Valley Psychological Clinic in McAllen.

Janie was then a Research Assistant at UT PanAm again as part of her Master’s program where she studied learning disabilities and brain mapping.

The whole time she was getting her two college degrees she was also raising her boys- she was an early pioneer of juggling motherhood and an education/career which was not very common at the time.

After she graduated she was a program coordinator for domestic and sexual violence victims at Women Together, Incorporated(Mujeres Unides) in McAllen. While there she did community presentations, provided counseling, and was a liaison and provided training with various law enforcement groups to raise awareness of these issues and to provide and find continuing support for women and children who had faced such things, especially the undocumented immigrant community who were resistant to asking for help for fear of immigration reprisals. But in this role Janie ensured that all of those that needed help were able to receive it, regardless of their legal status.

She was also a Social Services Program Coordinator and Counselor for the Motivation, Education, and Training Incorporated (MET, Inc.)through a federal grant from the Department of Labor. MET, Inc.focused on rural communities and people with financial hardships applying for and getting government support available to them. Int his role she directed and coordinated special projects and maintained her own caseload of clients she worked with personally to ensure as many children and youths as possible had a bright future.

Next Janie was a Youth Instructor and Counselor (again with MET,INC) and in conjunction with the National Farmworkers JobsProgram. In this role she worked with area school districts, colleges, and technical education providers to develop programs for undocumented youth or those suffering financial hardships to utilize public funding and resources to further their education and set and pursue professional goals. Again, this made a huge impact on the children and youth in the program to better their futures and improve their lives and the communities they were a part of. Many of them went on to receive their GEDs, and many of those additionally went on to college because of her dedication to her role.

Before she finally retired from her professional life Janie was a Director on the job placement side of Goodwill Industries, helping those who needed a second chance in life find work and start to rebuild their lives.

Outside of her actual career, and continuing for a time after she retired, Janie was active in various community programs and volunteered extensively.

She was a member of the Texas Workforce Youth Advisory committee, Una Mano Disaster Relief Committee, The BaptistTemple Church Workshop Committee, among many others causes and organizations.

She also helped coordinate many community events such as leading the planning for the 1st Valley Migrant Youth Conference and by leading the planning for the first and second annual Cesar Chavez Day Celebrations.

In the early 2000s she was also a regular speaker for youth in the county Juvenile Probation program and presented at manyvolunteer conferences and programs.

Later, after the loss of her husband, Gilbert, Janie was able to take her own grief and turn her pain into something that would help other people by bringing and running the Grief share program to her church. Through this work she helped many grieving people through the years.

Visitation will be from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a 7 p.m. prayer service Sunday, July 20, 2025, at Legacy Chapels 4610 South Jackson Road in Edinburg. Chapel service will be at 10 a.m. Monday, July 21, 2025 at Legacy Chapels. Interment will follow at Hillcrest Memorial Park in Edinburg.

In lieu of flowers please make a donation to the American Cancer Society, United Farmworkers Foundation (UFW) or the charity of your choice in Janie's name.

Funeral services are under the direction of Legacy Chapels in Edinburg.