Obituary of Victoria Canales

Mom was the daughter of Jose and Guadalupe (Perez) de los Santos. She married to Jose A. Canales in Eagle Pass, TX on December 29, 1952, they had ten children together. In 1953, shortly after our parent's marriage, they moved to Erie, Michigan, where they became members of St. Joseph Catholic Church. In 1983, mom and dad purchased "La Fiesta Restaurant" located on South Dixie Highway in LaSalle. La Fiesta was relocated to S.Telegraph Road in Erie. Mom was a member of the Erie Lioness Club and of the "Erie, All Girls Jug Band". Mom loved traveling to visit her family, spending as much time as possible in Rio Frio, Texas, where they had purchased a cabin in 1995 for their retirement. Mom was able to enjoy her time traveling until September 2011, when she was diagnosed with ALS. Her health had been declining for the past year and had been seriously ill for the past few months. Mom was recently honored at St Joseph, Erie for her 30 years as a Catechist Teacher at St. Joseph School, retiring in January 2012 due to her health. Mom was preceded in death by her husband in 1996; her son: Joe Jr. in 2007; and two sisters: Alicia (Daniel) Manzo and Maria "Elda" (Antonio) Rangel both of Eagle Pass, Texas. To cherish her memory she leaves nine children: Linda (Gary) Overbay of Rio Frio, TX, Jim (Kelly) of Erie, Guadalupe, "Lupe" (Jim) Harpster of Flat Rock, Mark (Cathy) of Erie, Ruth Modlin of Monroe, Mike (Lori) of Machipongo, Virginia, Patricia (Jeff) Clark of Carelton, Clyde (Simone), of Temperance, and Jeremy (Lara) of Champaign, Illinois; two sisters: Petra (Epifanio) Segura of San Jose, California and Dora (Nico) Davila of Silvis, Illinois; two brothers: Jose "Pepe" de los Santos of Eagle Pass, Texas and Gilberto (Juanita) de los Santos of Edinburg, Texas; 32 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren Friends may gather from 1:00-8:00pm, Tuesday, December 18, 2012 at Merkle Funeral Service, 9156 Summit Street (734) 848-5185. A Rosary service will take place at 7:00pm on Tuesday. She will lie in state from 10:00am until Mass of the Resurrection at 11:00am, Wednesday, at St. Joseph Catholic Church with Father Fred Kalaj officiating. Procession will follow to St. Joseph Cemetery for burial. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Joseph Catholic School. Online guests may leave condolences by visiting www.merklefs.com; Online Tributes page.