Viola Ruth (Cisneros) Peña

Viola Ruth (Cisneros) Peña was born in Bernalillo on June 26, 1926, and passed on March 20, 2022, of natural causes. The viewing will be at Compassion Mortuary on March 31st from 6:00 to 8 p.m., and the rosary and mass will held be at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church at 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. respectively on April 1st, with internment to follow.

Viola graduated from Santa Fe High School and earned a Bachelor of Music Education from the College of Mt. St Joseph in Cincinnati. During her school years she sang in operettas and was a member of the St. Frances Cathedral choir and a vocal soloist for weddings and funerals. Viola taught music education in the Santa Fe School System. She married her husband Abe in 1955 and lived at the Hubbell Ranch, a sheep ranch in Quemado, for a year before moving to Grants. Viola taught private voice and piano lessons, organized and directed the St. Teresa children's choir and the adult choir. She led Cursillos in Christianity and participated in the Bi-lingual Grants High School program. She held all offices in her Beta Sigma Phi Chapter and P.E.O. Sisterhood and was the local chairman of the National Guild of Piano Teachers.

The family moved to Honduras and then Costa Rica where Abe was Director of the Peace Corps. They then moved to Paraguay with the State Department and on to La Paz, Bolivia. They did a second tour in Paraguay, before returning to Grants in 1985. While in Paraguay she received the Ambassador's Award for service to the American community and its Paraguayan friends. Part of her job was to plan the meals and entertain VIPs from the Diplomatic Corps. She also organized and directed El Grupo Coral Americano.

Over the years she has taught voice, piano, cello, guitar, harp, and drama. Viola published her children’s book, Los Chilitos, in 2010. Viola organized the first Cancer Society Relay for Life event in Grants. Among other programs she supported Literacy Volunteers and the Quadrathlon. Her TV program "On Stage", featuring local talent, aired on channel 10. The Grants Chamber of Commerce presented Viola with an Outstanding Citizen Lifetime Service Award in 1996.

Her husband, Abe Peña, preceded her in death in 2014. She is survived by two siblings, Lena Sweeney and Robert Cisneros, as well as her four children, Ramona Alires and husband Norman Alires, Paula Ladd, Cecilia Salisbury and husband Randy Salisbury, and Marco Peña.

She has six grandchildren, Andrea Collins (Patrick), Marco Alires (Leah), Maria Connolly (Patrick), Michele Ladd, Paul Ladd (Dominique), and Jessica Ladd, along with six great grandchildren, Anya, Elijah, Kaylee, Tristan, Reid and Hannah, with two more on the way, Nathaniel Ladd and Baby Collins.

Her pallbearers are Marco Peña, Jessica Ladd, Michele Ladd, Marco Alires, Vince Martinez, Eugene Peña, Patrick Collins, and Adrian Barron.