Matriarch, 103, led one of Austin’s oldest, most prominent families
Limón’s large family first made Austin its home in the 1890s.
Eloisa Ojeda Limón was with only two people — one of her eight children and a caregiver — when she unexpectedly passed away in her sleep Monday.
But as news of her death spread, about 200 people came to her East Austin house throughout the day to pay their respects, family members said.
Limón was the matriarch of one of Austin’s oldest and most prominent families. She was 103.
Family members — along with friends who also called her Grandma — gathered at her house Monday and Tuesday to remember the woman who had been a part of their lives, for many of them since birth.
Limón was the eldest member of her family, who originally settled in Austin in the 1890s. To this day, the Limón family reunions fill Webberville Park in eastern Travis County every October.
In the 1960s, the Limóns moved to the street now known as Calle Limon, which was later renamed in their honor. Nowadays, several Limóns live in different houses along the street. Unsurprisingly, the family’s motto is “siempre unidos” — “always united” in Spanish.
Limón delivered eight boys and four girls. One girl died in infancy, another in a car crash, and two sons died recently as adults. Of her eight remaining children, the youngest, Virgil Limón, is in his 60s. She had 32 grandchildren, 68 great-grandchildren, and 18 great-great-grandchildren.
Many of her children, most of them now in their 70s and 80s, teared up while talking about her.
“She was always greeting everyone, always doing something for them, always moving around,” said Johnny Limón, who lived with her, took care of her and was with her when she died.
On Tuesday, half a dozen people at the house spoke fondly of the foot-high stack of tortillas she would always make for her family and their friends.
“She was a quiet warrior,” caring for so many people for so many years, said her grandson, Lonnie Limón. “It sounds corny,