Juanita (Jennie) Rivera Carlin of Houston, Texas passed away June 12, 2018 at the age of 93. She was born in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico on June 24, 1924 to ¬¬¬Maria & Luciano Lopez. She met her husband, Irvin Carlin, in Puerto Rico in her early 20s. They married in 1949 and moved to the mainland of the United States. They lived in several locations before settling in Houston, Texas, where she and Irvin raised their family and remained married until Irvin’s passing in 1989.
Jennie was a modern woman before her time and began her career at NASA in 1962. When she began working at NASA, she worked in the Downtown Houston location in the security department and was one of the first people hired when NASA was relocated to Houston. By 1964, she was working in the Public Affairs Department where she remained until retiring in 1993. Working in the Public Affairs Department allowed her the opportunity to meet many famous people including John F. Kennedy! She was very proud of her work and would share stories and photos often with her family of the exciting things going on at NASA.
Jennie was well known for her spunk which earned her the nickname Cha Cha. She was very outgoing and took joy in meeting new people. Due to her thirst for knowledge, she studied many languages as well as Puerto Rican and American History. She was fluent in Spanish, English, Italian and French which helped her over the years in her career. She loved gardening and was known to have the most beautiful yard on the block! She also was fond of many types of dancing and delighted in taking ballroom dance lessons on occasion. She had a love of sports but especially baseball which she enjoyed watching with her son Freddy. In her later years, she was cared for by her daughter and son-in-law, Karleen and Cotton, and appreciated a slower pace of life.

She is preceded in death by her Husband: Irvin Carlin; Son: Irvin Fredrick (Freddy) Carlin; Great Grandchildren: Aydenn Hendrix, Layla Ramos; Mother: Maria Lopez; Father: Luciano Lopez; Brothers: Senen Miguela, Samuel Lopez.

She is survived by her Daughters: Carmen Justina Moon; Betty Jean Lausell and husband Jose; Karleen Rose Vinas and husband Lewis (Cotton); Audrey Christine Wrye and husband Ronnie
Grandchildren: James, Kelly, Sabrina, Jason, Dustinn, Shonda, Tommy, Natalie, Jacob, Alana, Nathan, Glen and Christi; Great Grandchildren: Austin, Savannah, Justin, Jonathan, Abriam, Aerick, Chelsey, Madison, Blake, River, Ransom, Olivia, Jasmine, Angelica, Aliya, Daniel, Jordan, Savannah and Aaron; Sister: Augustine Schneider, and several great great grandchildren and many other family and friends.