Join us in Chicago this spring for Purple Stride 2026 as part of&nbsp;<a href="https://bit.ly/TeamCelia2026" rel="nofollow">Team Celia</a> as we honor our beloved Mother and raise funds to end Pancreatic Cancer. Nothing would have made her happier.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
We will provide additional event details as the event draws nearer.

Purple Stride Chicago 2026

Please join family and friends to pray the rosary and pay tribute to the Virgen de Guadalupe, a saint who held special meaning for Celia.
&nbsp;
A live stream link will be provided for those who wish to join virtually; we will add it here as soon as it is available.

Rosary

Relatives and friends are invited to pay their respects at a Catholic Mass which will be said for the repose of Celia's soul on January 3, 2026 at Corpus Christi Catholic Church,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com/maps/search/450+Corral+Canyon+Road?entry=gmail&source=g" rel="nofollow">450 Corral Canyon Road</a>, Bonita, CA.
&nbsp;
To watch a replay of the livestream, please visit the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/live/EU77XZG4kdg?si=fJIw-Eu1rwBdxmom" rel="nofollow">YouTube Channel</a> for Corpus Christi Catholic Church:
&nbsp;

Memorial Mass

Our beloved Mamacita always told us that she wanted us to celebrate when she made her way to heaven. We hope you will join us as we gather to enjoy delicious food, laughs and memories.
&nbsp;
She had a passion for fashion, so we encourage you to dress to impress with your finest accessories and hats! 👠 🎩
&nbsp;
Please RSVP to help us plan our headcount. 🙏
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

Let's Celebrate a Life Well-Lived

Robert Woerner

Celia Woerner

Anita Ortiz

Timothy Woerner

Celia Angela Woerner, a unique and truly remarkable matriarch whose resolute faith helped sustain her during a lengthy fight with ovarian and pancreatic cancer, passed away peacefully on Saturday, December 20, 2025, at her home in Chula Vista, CA with her family at her side. She was born on October 21, 1942, and was raised and educated in Mexico City by her parents, Jose Mariano Martin Bernal Santamaria and Francisca Pérez Albeano.

She was known to her younger siblings, Victor and Jesús, by the slang nickname “Popotitos” who shared with her a joyful adolescence and young adulthood filled with parties and dancing. Her love of music stayed with her throughout her life. The ambient noise of her household frequently included her whistling songs as she cooked unparalleled versions of mole poblano and pozole. The latter was so legendary that the family pet Dalmatian, Sport, developed calluses on his front legs from straining to see over the family room couch into the kitchen from which an intoxicating smell was emanating. (Celia loved Sport but always complained about the presence of his white fur on her clothing.) She also loved a good mojito.

Celia met her husband, James Paul (Jim) Woerner, Jr., in 1964 when he was a US State Department funded undergraduate foreign exchange student in Mexico. They married on June 11, 1966, after he graduated from the University of Nebraska and was commissioned as a Naval Officer through that school’s NROTC training program. Their love story would continue uninterrupted for sixty more years and allowed them and their children to enjoy worldwide travel both during his 23-year Navy career and afterwards.

Celia was particularly devoted to the adoration of Saint Martin de Porres and the Virgen de Guadalupe whose Basilica was located a short distance from her childhood home. She considered herself blessed to have also visited others sites dedicated to the Blessed Mother Mary, including the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC, the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragosa, the Sagrada Familia Temple in Barcelona, the Basilica of Our Lady of Chiquinquirá, located in the Colombian city of Tunja as well as the nearby Sanctuary dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary in the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá and yet another located in Las Lajas, Ipiales, Colombia.

Celia was such a force of personality that it often felt the universe traveled around her rather than the inverse. Known for her playful cross-language idioms and malaphors (“Momisms”), she would tell advice-seekers to deal with challenges by proclaiming “That’s just the way the cookie bounces,” and then double down on the notion that despite the way others might spin that phrase, the products of the linguistic bakery she proudly operated, did not, in fact, crumble.

While over the years she held a variety of jobs ranging from See’s Candy vendor to Talbots associate, she was best described as an educator both for her family at home and for students enrolled in classes she taught at the YMCA which included parenting skills for individuals confronting situations of domestic turmoil.  She also held court regularly offering generous wisdom for all who were lucky enough to call her a friend.

She was known as an elegant, fashionable woman who preached the gospel of accessorizing, a rule that seemed to apply to every aspect of her life. Loving text messages sent to friends and family incorporated impressive quantities of emojis. Visitors to her home would see her décor change seasonally and her reputation for impeccable taste would precede her when she visited others as well. She would catalogue and plan outfits to pack and wear far in advance. Even in the depths of her illness, she would astonish the nurses and doctors caring for her with her adaptable use of a collection of scarves, eyeglass frames, and hats to make chemotherapy sessions appear more pleasant than anyone ever imagined.

She was fierce in her devotion to her family and took immense pride in the achievements and generosity of her children and grandchildren. Inspired by her daughter Anita’s fundraising for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation charity, she once shaved her head to demonstrate solidarity (a kindness that was repaid years later when Anita could return the favor as Celia fought cancer herself.) Yet she never took herself too seriously or lacked humor: When her elder son Robert delivered a toast at her younger son Timothy’s wedding, it was Celia that proved the heckler in the crowd.

She lived fearlessly and refused to be defined by the sadness of her diagnoses instead of the stubbornness of her joy. She envisioned jazz bands, and bagpipes, and mariachis heralding her departure from this world, as if the mythology of a single culture would be insufficient to announce her.

She is survived by her husband Jim; her children, Robert (Kalah) Woerner of Tampa, FL, Anita (Sergio) Ortiz of Whittier, CA, Timothy (Allison) Woerner of Elgin, IL; her grandchildren, James Woerner III, Samuel Woerner, Calvin Woerner and Sawyer Woerner; and her brother, Victor Bernal Pérez . She was preceded in death by her parents and brother, Jesús Bernal Pérez.

Relatives and friends are invited to pay their respects at a Catholic Mass which will be said for the repose of her soul on January 3, 2026 at 11am at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, 450 Corral Canyon Road, Bonita, CA and live streamed via the Church’s web site. A celebration of life for loved ones outside of Southern California will follow at a date and time to be announced.

Celia was immensely grateful for the kind and compassionate care she received at the Naval Medical Center San Diego, and in the hope of a future without pancreatic cancer asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. Many friends and relatives anticipate walking in her honor at the PanCAN PurpleStride Chicago 2026 event on Saturday, April 25, 2026. More information about donating to PanCAN via Team Celia’s efforts to honor her can be found at http://support.pancan.org/goto/TeamCelia.

When words can't fully express what we want to say, sometimes a small gift can. Visit our Memorial Store for personalized gifts, keepsake jewelry and to plant a memorial tree.

Page Settings

Full Name

We use cookies to enhance browsing experience serve personalized ads or content, and analyze our traffic. By clicking 'Accept All', you consent to our use of cookies. Learn more on our <privacyLink>Privacy Page</privacyLink>.

<firstParagraph>We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze how you use this website, store your preferences, and provide the content and advertisements that are relevant to you. These cookies will only be stored in your browser with your prior consent.</firstParagraph><secondParagraph>You can choose to enable or disable some or all of these cookies but disabling some of them may affect your browsing experience.</secondParagraph>

<firstParagraph>We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.</firstParagraph><secondParagraph>The cookies that are categorized as 'Necessary' are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site.</secondParagraph>

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

Analytics

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

Functional

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

Necessary

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

Performance

Customize Cookie Preferences

Enter a new password to access your account with.

Create New Password

Verification Successful!

Black Friday Offering

Honor Their Memory

- Including QR Memorial Plaques, Memorial Trees and our Keeper Plus and Concierge Memorial Plans

Now offering KeeperQR Plaques

New Message

The following files could not be uploaded

Ways you can honor {memorialName}'s memory:

Enter the email address associated with your account and we'll email your password reset instructions.

Forgot Password?

GatheringUs is now part of Keeper

Scheduled Updates in Progress

New Password Setup Has Been Sent To Your Email

Donation Link

Upcoming Event

Featured Mementos

Welcome Message

Select an item to highlight

Add a highlighted item

Customize which items you’d like to highlight on the memorial

Create Account

Become a Keeper

As a free {brandName} user, you will only be able to make 5 photos and videos public.

As a free {brandName} user, only the first five (5) Mementos are visible to page visitors. You can change which Mementos are public by dragging and dropping a photo or video to one of the first five positions. Upgrading to {brandName} Plus will make all 10 Mementos selected visible to the public.

All Mementos

This option is only available to Keeper Plus users.

To allow yourself and the rest of the community to view all images and videos, and to enable everyone to download their own copy of these mementos, upgrade your account to Keeper Plus.

This memento is not visible to visitors

Your community has posted {itemCount} more pictures and videos that honor {firstName}'s memory. To view them all, and to enable everyone to download their own copy of each, this account will need to upgrade to Keeper Plus.

View all images and videos with Keeper Plus

Our Obituary Assistant helps you craft a meaningful life story in minutes. Review and edit every detail, and unlock more features with Keeper Plus.

Obituary Assistant

Spend as much time as you need working on your Memorial page before it is visible to the public, and much more, when you upgrade to Keeper Plus.

Save Page as Draft

Create unlimited event pages and unlock a suite of powerful features to help you seamlessly coordinate event details, invites, and more when you upgrade to Keeper Plus.

Event

Create a full picture of your loved one’s community and add unlimited family and friends to Loved Ones when you upgrade to Keeper Plus.

Loved One

Create unlimited Memorials — and unlock unlimited images and videos, event pages, and advanced privacy settings — to help you keep memories alive when you upgrade to Keeper Plus.

Memorial Page

Add unlimited Stories to highlight the all the things that made your loved one unique, from milestones, images, albums, documents, locations, and much more.

Highlight Stories

Upgrading to Keeper Plus means you can add additional Keepers to help you gather Mementos and tributes, approve content, build out a family tree, and tell {firstName}' story on Keeper.

Invite Keepers with Keeper Plus

Upload and display unlimited photos and videos, use unlimited Story templates to highlight key moments, and allow friends and family to download their own copies when you upgrade to Keeper Plus. 

Better Mementos with Keeper Plus

To access memorial related configurations that control the display of the banner upgrade to Keeper Plus.

This configuration  is not available on your current plan

Create a meaningful link path to add a personal touch to {firstName}'s memorial.

Custom Memorial link

Gift Messages

SENDING AS A GIFT?

Cart

About 1-800 Flowers

"Flowers were beautiful and they arrived in time before the funeral. Thank you and will purchase more in the future.!"

Hearing Tears

"Beautiful flowers, I've always enjoyed sending them to my love ones for sympathy and they have always love them very much Thanks for making people feel good when receiving them."

Sympathy

"This was true to the photo and good to know family took arrangement after the service."

Beautiful arrangement.  Perfect size for service.

Some of the great things our customers say about us

We're here to make it a little easier, with thoughtful gifts for the services & home, along with expert advice on how to be there during a difficult time.

Flowers

Gift Baskets

Express Your Deepest Sympathy

About Us

Perfect Condolence Gift

No one is meant to grieve alone

Peace and love

Product is made, packaged, and sent with love

Keepsakes

How to add your gift message

Packaging Information

Shipping information

Add a Personalized Charm to the Ornament:

Other Keepsakes

Install KeeperQR onto any headstone, urn, or other memorial in minutes.

Install

Use your phone or tablet to scan the unique code — no other tools required!

Scan

All three of our elegant KeeperQR designs are printed using durable, weather-resistant aluminum designed for indoors and outdoor use on headstones and urns, memorial benches and trees, or other monuments to your loved one’s life

Built to Last

Get <discount>50% off</discount> Keeper Plus with your KeeperQR purchase

Keeper Basic

Learn About Our Plans

Connect the physical and digital worlds to share your loved one’s life story with friends and family, no matter where they are.

KeeperQR Memorial QR Code Plaques

Planting a memorial tree or bereavement tree is a unique, environmentally conscious way to pay tribute and honor the memory of your loved one. Keeper Memorials is supporting American Forests to plant whitebark pine trees as well as thornscrub trees in select regions of the US and Canada.

Memorial Trees

KeeperQR is designed to pair seamlessly with a Keeper digital memorial. Use our FREE intuitive tools to create biographies, maps, and timelines, share photos and videos, and more with customizable features built to commemorate your loved one’s life’s story.

Powered by Keeper

Lifetime without any hidden costs or subscription traps

One time payment

Keeper is SOC2 compliant, keeping your memories safe and secure.

Data protection guaranteed

We bring your QR Codes to any corner of the globe

Worldwide Shipping

Our durable and beautiful QR code plaques create seamless connection between your loved one’s physical memorial and their digital memorial, allowing visitors to their final resting place instant access to their life legacy.

Memorial.

Honor their memory, share their story

A KeeperQR is a weather-resistant plaque with a custom QR code that links directly to your loved one’s digital memorial. When placed on a headstone, urn, bench, or tree, it allows friends and family to scan and view their life story instantly

What is a KeeperQR?

They’re built to withstand outdoor elements and adhere to most surfaces.

Where can I place the KeeperQR?

How does it work?

Frequently asked questions

KeeperQR

E-Certificate Design

Plant Memorial Trees as a Living Tribute

BRAZIL

CANADA

FLORIDA

OREGON

Memorial Project Reach

Memorial trees start at {price} per tree, with discounts for multiple trees

Our Commitment

Gift Baskets & Food

Keeper Plus

QR Plaques

Keepers Featured Products

A Greener Way to Remember

Learn about our Partners:

Help Us Complete Your Order

Remembrance Store

Through your unique link, your client can sign up for Keeper and create a Memorial for a loved one. When the Memorial page is completed by the family, it will appear on your microsite and website. You will be the main Keeper Administrator of the Memorial, along with the family member that created the page.

Invite Your Clients to Create a Memorial

Invite Families

Your Email Notifications

Notifications

Email Unsubscribe Settings

Other Settings

With your active Keeper PLUS subscription, you get unlimited access to a suite of powerful features:

Allow visitors to download a local copy of all images and videos.

Download Media

Create a custom and meaningful URL, unique to your loved one, for each Memorial page.

Editable URL

Plan public or private events and invite your loved ones.

Event Pages

Add images and create profile pages to illustrate the history and genealogy of your loved one.

Family Tree

Invite unlimited administrators to help you manage every Memorial page you have.

Keeper Administrators

Visitors enjoy unrestricted access to all uploaded images and videos.

Unlimited Media

Create unlimited Memorial pages for your loved ones.

Memorial Pages

You will be able to upload Full HD videos instead of embedded links.

Video Uploading

Your Profile

Add a business user

Edit a business user

Are you sure you want to delete these users from these brands? You will need to manually add these users again.

If the user is a part of multiple brands, you will have to delete the user from each one individually

Delete Users from Brands?

Users Settings & Notifications

Users

Are you sure you want to delete these users? This action will revoke their privileges across all brands.

Are you sure you want to delete this user? This action will revoke their privileges across all brands.

Delete Users from all Brands?

Delete User from Brand?

Are you sure you want to delete {totalDeletes} from this user?

Delete Roles from this User?

Are you sure you want to delete this user from this brand? You will need to manually add this user again.

Delete User from this Brand?

Requires users to confirm their email every time they would like to share a tribute on a Memorial page.

When Email Tribute Validation is turned OFF, Guest users do not need to confirm their email address before their tribute is published.

When Email Tribute Validation is turned ON, Guest users will need to confirm their email address before their tribute is published. They will receive an email with a confirmation link they must click.

Requires users to confirm their email only the first time they would like to share a tribute on a Memorial page.

Memorial Keepers (3)

Celia "Mamacita" Angela Woerner

Celia Mamacita Woerner Obituary | Keeper Memorials

Memorial Keepers (3)

Celia "Mamacita" Angela Woerner