PENA -- Carlos "Charlie" Pena, age 73, a resident of Belen, NM, joined our Lord & Savior on Monday, December 28, 2009. He was a very active member of Our Lady of Belen Catholic Church. Charlie is survived by his loving wife of 53 years, Diana Pena; four loving children, Philip Pena and wife, Tonia, David Pena and wife, Gloria, Therese Pena and Gerard Pena; and five loving grandchildren.
He retired from BNSF after 38 years of employment. "Coach Pena", as he was affectionately referred to, actively worked with the youth of Valencia County community athletics. He was a life long member and volunteer of Our Lady of Belen Parish. He is survived by his loving wife of 53 years, Diana Pena; his four loving children, Philip and wife, Tonia, David and wife, Gloria, Therese Pena and Gerard Pena; five grandchildren, Johnathan and wife, Mary, Joshua, Sarah, Emily, and Christopher; his sister, Corrine Padilla and husband, Martin and brother, Raymond Pena and wife, Ingrid. A visitation will be held at Our Lady of Belen Catholic Church, on Wednesday, December 30, at 9:30 a.m. with a rosary to be recited at 10:30 a.m. and a Memorial Mass to be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. with Father Stephen Schultz presiding. Interment will follow at Our Lady of Belen Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers, please donate to St. Vincent de Paul, 916 Castillo Ave., Belen, NM 87002 or 505-864-0808.
Carlos "Charlie" Pena offered up a little bit of his heart to everyone he met.

Charlie Pena remembered as as a man with love, devotion PDF Print E-mail
Written by Curt Gustafson/News-Bulletin
Wednesday, 30 December 2009 06:00

Carlos "Charlie" Pena offered up a little bit of his heart to everyone he met.





To Diana, his wife of 53 years, whom he loved and pampered so much that she never learned how to pump her own gas.

To his four children, who experienced his presence at all of their activities, be it game or practice session, and who received his sometimes stern, but loving guidance.

To the many Belen High School coaches for whom he served as a volunteer coach.

To the hundreds of Eagle athletes who received his tender encouragement, especially when they found themselves most vulnerable.

And to his beloved church that received his service up to his last days of his life.
[Charlie Peña Died on Monday]

Charlie Peña Died on Monday

At the age of 73, Charlie's heart apparently could give no more. He died early Monday during a 14-hour surgery when doctors were unable to repair a severely torn aortic valve.

Knowing that he was most likely living the last moments of his life as he was being wheeled into surgery, Pena maintained the good humor that was a trademark of his life.

""When he went into surgery, he was laughing and joking with the doctors," Diana said. "The anesthesiologist came in with a big bag of stuff, and Charlie asked him, 'Is that your camera bag?'"

In spite of all he gave to his family and his community, his final instructions were that of a humble man. He requested that his wife not draw into a shell and overly mourn his passing, and he wished to have no eulogies recited.

"He wasn't a perfect man; nobody is," Diana said. "He was human. Some people might not like him because he was so friendly."

But his wife and children all agreed that he would treat an adversary with just as much friendliness as his closest associate.

"He was a forgiving man, too," Diana said. "Where I found it hard to forgive sometimes, he would tell me to let it go, that it was in the past."

"I've known him for six and a half years," said Father Steven Schultz, pastor of Our Lady of Belen Catholic Church, about Pena, who volunteered at the church for many years. "I honestly don't recall him having an unkind word to say about anyone. He was always positive and upbeat."

Peña performed many functions at the church, including marriage preparation sessions for couples, rehearsal coordinator for weddings, and in recent years, helping with data entry into the computers.

"He would do countless little things that individually might have seemed insignificant, but collectively mattered so much to us," Father Schultz said. "I would say that the entire staff here is filled with great sadness because we have lost not just a member of our parish, but a very close friend."

Peña, who was named the News-Bulletin's 1999 Citizen of the Year, was an eager volunteer, essentially his whole adult life.

"He was my coach when I was (a student) at St. Mary's School," said Danny Griego, who is currently Belen's girls basketball coach.

Later on, when Griego became a coach himself, he and Peña coached together at Belen Middle School. Then, Pena assisted Griego for eight years after Griego received the head boys basketball coaching job at the high school.

"He did anything and everything we asked him to do," Griego said. "You don't see many people who are so committed to helping. He always gave everything his whole attention. He was a very unique individual who loved working with kids."

Danny's brother, Kenny, now Valencia County business manager, was also the recipient of Peña's help when Kenny was an educator and head coach of Belen's football and basketball teams.

"Charlie had a heart as big as New Mexico," Griego said. "If you needed a shoulder, he always gave you that shoulder. If you needed advice, he was there to give you advice. He was a great person to have around."

But his greatest passion was working with the kids.

"He never wanted to be a paid coach, but I think that was what made him even more of a mentor to some of these kids," Kenny Griego said. "He was always there with that little pat on the back that they needed so that they could come back and play another day."

This type of support was evident with his own children, David, Phillip and Gerard, who all played sports at Belen High School, and daughter, Therese, who became an adept scorekeeper for her father.

Peña worked the graveyard shift during his 38 years working for the railroad so that he could attend his childrens' activities.

"Even if he slept two or three hours, he would get up and go to an event," Therese said.

"I remember playing and hearing my Dad yelling from the stands," David said. "My Dad was always there, even for practices. I didn't even have to look for him, I knew he was there."

"Because he worked graveyard, it was always 'good morning' no matter what time of day," Phillip said. "But he had a hard fist, and I think it was good. He was sometimes hard, but fathers have to be hard with their kids."

With other people's kids it was always encouragement and the expectation they could do their best whether on or off the playing field.

"He was the same with every kid," Phillip said. "He wanted everybody to be the best, to have good morals, be a good kid and do well in school."

"To this day, I'll run across kids who are younger than I who say, 'I know your Mom and Dad, and I just love them,'" Therese said. "I think every child thinks their parents are special, but when you hear other people say that, it's special."

Peña gave up his coaching duties a few years ago to spend more time with his wife, but he still volunteered when asked.

"If he ever slowed down, I never knew it because when I needed him, he was always there," said Belen High School principal Jim Danner.

"He was always happy, always positive and a great person to be around," Danner said of Pena. "Belen athletics is going to miss him because he's been such a big part of all of our lives for a long period of time."

Charlie and Diana attended hundreds of games, including the football team's championship game, where Charlie was yelling at the top of his lungs.

"I'm going to miss going to the games now," Diana said. "It wouldn't be fun without him. He was the one who made it fun."

Pena's giving and fun-loving nature will be missed by many in the Belen community.

"When my wife called me to tell me about his death, I said, 'No, no, it's not Charlie, it's got to be somebody else,'" said Kenny Griego. "And she said 'No, it's our Charlie.' And that's about the best way I can put it. He was our Charlie."