Our beautiful, beloved mother, Manuela “Nellie” Peña, passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. She had just turned 100 years old.
Nellie was born in Los Angeles, California, and was the second oldest of eight children. She was born to Sabina Gonzales and Exaltacion “Tony” Reyes.
Nellie helped raise her siblings starting at age twelve after losing their mother to influenza while they lived in Indiana.
Later in life, she pursued her GED and attended Purdue University, where she studied social work.
She was married to Bacilio Peña, Jr. for 65 family-centered years. Together, they traveled the world, and she learned to speak French.
Nellie loved her three children and was the best mother anyone could ever want. She was known throughout the Hessville, Indiana community for her delicious tacos at Fabulous Hot Dog in the 1970s. People still talk today about how good they were!
She was preceded in death by her parents, Sabina Gonzales and Exaltacion Reyes; her husband, Bacilio Peña, Jr.; and five sisters and two brothers: Ramona Celio, Mary Vargas, Roberta Becerra, Corina Rucoba, Mary Helen Gallardo, Jesse Reyes, and Gregory Joseph Reyes.
Nellie is survived by her three children: Steven Peña, Edith (Robert) Perez, and Camille (Albert) Medina. She also leaves behind five grandchildren: Melanie (Daniel) Ree, Christina Perez, Gregory Perez, Rachel (Patrick) Schreiber, and Allison (Benjamin) Rosen; seven great-grandchildren: Victoria Quiroz, Hudson and Dylan Ree, Sabrina and Cordelia Schreiber, Gabriel and Reese Rosen; and many nieces and nephews.
Funeral Service will be held on Tuesday, May 19, 2026 at the Lincoln Ridge Funeral Home (7607 W. Lincoln Hwy. Schererville, IN) at 11:00 A.M. Friends are invited to visit with Manuela’s family on Tuesday at the Funeral Home from 9:00 A.M. until 11:00. At rest, Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery Elwood, Il.
