Juana "Janie" Maria Sacramento - Cortes

In spring of 1951 a pair of South Texas share croppers (Claudio and Maria) welcomed their first daughter into the world. The fourth child of eleven children. As the only girl, for a time, she had the monumental task of acting as a second mother to her siblings. Her early childhood was spent changing diapers, cooking, cleaning, and aiding in picking cotton. In the late 50s the family followed the flow of migration to the North, they landed in the Mexican enclave of South Chicago along with other Texas migrant families. She along with her siblings attended Our Lady of Guadalupe Grammar school. The large family became well known, even infamous in the neighborhood due to their size and general presence.

She attended Saint Peter and Pauls high school followed by Bowen after its closure and then briefly, the University of Illinois at Chicago. Due to constraints at home and involvement in the Vietnam war campus protests she left college and began a decade long career as a nurse at South Chicago Hospital. In 1971, she met and married Jose de Jesús Cortés an ambitious entrepreneur who she would build a wide spanning business with; covering music, furniture, Western wear, and real estate. Her post nursing career would engulf her life, she kept the books and handled all of the internal business needs associated with owning and operating such a wide variety of stores and real estate holdings. All of the success in business would soon be overshadowed by the job that she loved the most...motherhood.

In 1984 she welcomed her first child, Maria followed in 1987 by Claudio, and in 1988 Manuel. If you asked her what her biggest accomplishment was she would tell you, "putting these kids through private school". Raising three children while operating a business is not for the weak, luckily Jane was up for the challenge.

In the mid-90s during a lull in the business, she took a job that would bring her closer to her children and help her touch more lives, she became the "lunch-lady" at her kid's grammar school. St. Pius V. This move was the embodiment of her commitment to her children and to building community. Involvement in the food industry ignited a passion in her that would see her attending culinary school. Her learnings would extend to her dinner table at home and also cultivate a passion for fine dining among her kids. It is safe to say that we all benefitted from this decision.

Shortly after her foray into school lunch she became more and more involved in the Pilsen Together Chamber of Commerce, where as the executive director, she was integral in the development and organization of an annual community arts festival, preparations for the 2005 Gay Games inaugural gala, and the creation of the Dia de Los Niños parade. During her stint as ED she was involved in the development of the Pilsen Quality of Life Plan in partnership with The Resurrection Project. During this period, she developed many friendships that would last for the remainder of her life. She was an advocate for the arts and organizations that actively helped to make Pilsen and Chicago a better place to live.

When I think about my mother I think about every adversity that I saw her overcome, she wore her experiences like badges of honor, but no matter what happened, she always met every challenge with Love and generosity. She loved deeply, she wore her heart on her sleeve.

Her giving spirit would extend beyond just her kid's friends and family who were having a hard time, she gave to her community, and really believed in being the change that you want to see in the world. She believed in taking direct action, approaching problems head on like the taurus that she was.

She touched so many lives in her time here. May we all take on a bit of that spirit of love and generosity so that she may live on through our good deeds.

Celebration of Life: Saturday, March 14th, 2-8 PM at Benson Family Funeral, 3224 W. Montrose Ave., Chicago, IL 60618.

Memorial Mass: Friday, April 24th at 10 AM at St. Procopius, 1647 S. Allport Ave., Chicago, IL 60608.