Brodecky’s daughter recalls ex-mayor’s life

By MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ
Managing Editor
editor@sbnewspaper.com

JuaNita Brodecky
JuaNita Brodecky

Twenty-three days after losing one of her daughters, former Rio Hondo Mayor JuaNita Brodecky died at the age of 84 after suffering from years of illness.

According to her youngest daughter, 59-year-old Christine Heimrich, Brodecky passed away Thursday, Aug. 4 after being admitted to Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen with double pneumonia. She succumbed to illness following three years of deteriorating health conditions that Heimrich said began with a stroke. Then, during her hospitalization for the stroke, Brodecky discovered she had breast cancer, Parkinson’s disease and dementia, Heimrich added.

“It was like… bam, bam, bam. Three things hit her all at once. And because of the stroke she wasn’t able to speak like she used to, and that was hard for her,” said Heimrich, who moved to Rio Hondo from Colorado to help care for her mother in the last year and a half of her life.

It was difficult for Heimrich to speak to the News on Tuesday as she often paused to maintain her composure, clearly affected by her mother’s sudden passing. Furthermore, Heimrich is still grieving the death of one of her older sisters, Claudia Cox, who died in July at the age of 61. “I’m sorry, I’m just sad my sister and mother died nearly 20 days apart… heartbroken,” Heimrich said during the course of the interview for this story.

Tragedy first hit the family in October of 2008, when Brodecky’s oldest daughter, Barbara Alexander, was killed at the age of 61. Heimrich is now the only surviving offspring of three.

Brodecky also leaves behind a husband of 41 years, John Brodecky who, like his wife, once served as mayor of Rio Hondo. “My dad had to take care of her. He was here three years when she was having more and more strokes. He took care of her at home,” Heimrich said, adding, “They were the best friends to the end. They really did love each other all the way.”

Heimrich described her mother, who served three terms as mayor in Rio Hondo during the 1970s, as a hardworking woman with strong ethics and an even stronger sense of responsibility.

“She taught us a lot about self-responsibility and being tough, and not quitting. Quitting wasn’t an option,” Heimrich recalled. “Just strength of character is what she taught us. She loved us… she always called us her jewels. I was the youngest and she always carried me around, so my sisters called me her monkey because I was always attached.”

Heimrich continued, “(Brodecky) wrote a book on epilepsy, her political life was important to her, and she was a very beautiful woman who cared about everyone, rich or poor. She liked to travel and write about where she went, she even came to see us in Colorado when I had a bear problem. A bear had come up to the porch and attacked one of my dogs.”

Such memories were shared by Heimrich while looking at photos of her mother. “She took every job she ever had seriously,” Heimrich said, recalling Brodecky’s days in politics and as a writer in which she contributed articles to local newspapers, including the San Benito News. “I loved my mom, and I’m going to miss her a lot.”

Visitation will be held Friday from 12 noon to 9 p.m. with the family present from 5-7 p.m. at Buck Ashcraft Funeral Home in Harlingen. The funeral is scheduled Saturday at 3 p.m. inside the Rio Hondo Baptist Church; burial will follow at Mont Meta Memorial Park.

To see this story in print, pick up a copy of the Aug. 10 edition of the San Benito News. Or view our E-Edition by clicking here.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.sbnewspaper.com/2011/08/09/brodecky%e2%80%99s-daughter-recalls-ex-mayor%e2%80%99s-life/

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