Obituaries

Maria Theresa Aragon passed away peacefully in her home in Newark, California, on May 29, 2026, succumbing to cancer after a valiant two-year battle. She was 85.

Maria was born on the Portuguese island of Madeira, a mountainous archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of Africa. She was one of nine children born to Vincente and Maria Pita.

Maria recalled facing economic hardship as a child but found joy in the little things life had to offer, like a ripe fig on a tree near her home and a new pair of shiny black shoes. She had a vivid memory of her last day on the island, playing with her friends and receiving a piggyback ride before she said goodbye and boarded an airplane for the first time at the age of 7. She emigrated to the United States in 1948.

Maria loved learning and did well in school, but her education was interrupted when she left high school in her senior year at the age of 17 to marry Trancito Aragon. They made their home in Newark, California, raising four children, Aaron, Lucinda, Lawrence and Christina, all of whom continue to reside in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Trancito was the primary breadwinner, working at Caterpillar Tractor, while Maria raised the children and supplemented their income by ironing clothes and cleaning homes. Maria never gave up on education. She attended night school and earned her high school diploma, which enabled her to join Silicon Valley’s burgeoning semiconductor industry. She was employed by Fairchild and National Semiconductor, where she worked in clean rooms dressed in a “bunny suit” and performed quality assurance on silicon wafers.

Like most modern American mothers, Maria somehow juggled a full-time job, homemaking and raising children. She spoiled her family with wonderful meals like spaghetti and meatballs, enchiladas and homemade tortillas and sopaipillas. Her children fondly remember their mother’s grape jelly, which she cooked on the stovetop, filling the house with an aroma they will never forget. She served the jelly on freshly baked bread, another aroma that stays with her loved ones.

Maria was known as “Terry” to the kids in her neighborhood, who remember her kindness and how she provided them with a second home, cooking them meals and caring for their scrapes and bruises.

Maria was foremost a caregiver. In addition to her children, she helped to raise five grandchildren and seven great grandchildren who knew her as “Grandma.” She would feed them, change their diapers, read to them, sing to them and play with them, always finding time for one more story or song. She comforted them when they cried, hugging and reassuring them with unconditional love. As each child grew, Maria was always there to celebrate them, cheering them on at soccer games, ballet recitals and school events.

Maria was a faithful Catholic and loved Jesus with her whole heart.

She is survived by her sisters, Mary Bernal, Natalia Gonsalves, Marietta Riehl and Lucille Gould, and her brothers, Vincent Pita and Joseph Pita; her children, Aaron Aragon, Lucinda Aragon, Lawrence Aragon and Christina Rodriguez; her grandchildren, Elizabeth Aragon, Samuel Aragon, Joshua Aragon, Camille Resendez and Cassandra Rodriguez; and great grandchildren, Fernando Rodriguez Ibarra, Aleyna Rodriguez Ibarra, Ayla Rodriguez Ibarra, Vicente Rodriguez Ibarra, Delilah Resendez, Joel Resendez and Anthony Resendez. She was preceded in death by her husband Trancito.