Geneva Adeline Fernandez passed away on July 18, 2022 after a short-term illness. She was born on February 26, 1955 in Pittsburg, CA to the beautiful union between Gabino Jack Fernandez (deceased) and Rose Pineda Fernandez (deceased).

Geneva graduated Pittsburg High in 1973 and was a graduate of San Jose State University. Across the span of her life, Geneva was an activist in the LBGTQ+ Community and was at the center of the Chicano/a Power Movement in the Bay Area and Los Angeles in the 1970s and beyond. As a young activist, Geneva and other Chicano youth participated in the National Chicano Moratorium Against the Vietnam War. Geneva was a Chicana for the ages.

Geneva's career spanned decades working in Social Services, crafting a career focusing on connecting unhoused youth with resources, employment, and housing. She served as the Director of Hospitality House in San Francisco's Tenderloin District and was instrumental in servicing undocumented, unhoused youth primarily from Central America.

When the AIDS/SIDA epidemic hit San Francisco, Geneva worked to build organizations like Proyecto ContraSida Por Vida, an organization created to promote HIV education. Geneva worked alongside Chicana activists to create Mujeres Unidas and Activistas, promoting health programs for immigrant women in San Francisco's Mission District.

Geneva also served the community by creating spaces "for us, by us." Always the life of the party, Geneva worked with renowned DJ Diane "Chili D" Felix to produce Hot Colors, dance parties that built and deepened ties among lesbians of color and where lesbians of color could come together, party, and celebrate life.

In addition to living a life of service, Geneva was a talented artist who painted and created shadowboxes that brought to life her pride in her indigenous Mexican roots. A gifted storyteller, Geneva held and shared stories about her family and community with a twinkle in her eye and raucous, deep, joyous laughter.

More than anything, Gigi loved and cherished her family fiercely and lived as a connector of the Pineda Fernandez family to the present, past, and future. With deep love and devotion, she lived with and cared for her mother and best friend, Rose, until her passing. Gigi leaves to share the story of her life and to cherish her memory her beloved brother Jack Fernandez (Irene), her nieces Jacqueline (Pedro), Wendy (Simon), and Michelle (Jemuel); her nephews Greg, Arturo "Archie" (Soraya), and Robert "Chach" along with great nieces and nephews. Gigi also leaves the elder Tia Geneva, cousins, extended family, and chosen family to love her always and hold her memory dear.