Juanita Sanchez was born on July 12, 1948 in Albuquerque, New Mexico to her Mexican mother, Flora Sanchez, and Native American father, Hilario Sanchez. She grew up in South Valley, along with her sister Victoria V. Eichenberg, and attended high school in Albuquerque. Juanita’s father, Hilario, served in the U.S. military during World War II and Juanita went on to serve in the U.S. Air Force as a non-commissioned officer and as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army.

After her time in the military, Juanita worked at the Sandia National Laboratories, first as a precision machinist and later in human resources after earning her Masters degree in the field. Juanita journaled throughout high school and her adulthood, often using her journals as an outlet to express the difficult experiences she faced, including dealing with racism at her high school, abuse within her home, and sexism in the military. Juanita’s journals detail her intimate thoughts which include her struggles with mental health issues. While Juanita candidly expressed the difficulties she faced, she also described the sense of hopefulness she grew to feel and the joy she found in her creativity and love of life.

Juanita’s journals illustrate her deep love of poetry, a love she shared with others by cultivating spaces for women and elderly folks to write and share their writing. Juanita created women’s writing salons and would frequently highlight the work of women poets. She was a celebrated writer and poet who was featured in books such as Hard-Hatted Women: Life on the Job, edited by Molly Martin, and Chicana Lesbians: The Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About, edited by Carla Trujillo. After her retirement, she also coordinated the “Voices of the Valley” as a volunteer at the North Valley Senior Center. In addition to her work with poetry, Juanita loved being active and was a self-taught flutist who enjoyed playing for family and friends. At the age of 65, Juanita experienced a sudden illness and passed away on April 19, 2014.