Cita Burns

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Cita Aguila Burns, age 85, passed away peacefully on Friday, February 09, 2024.

Cita was born in La Chorrera, Panama on April 27, 1938, to Juan Bautista Aguila Duarte and Maria del Socorro Aguila Castillo. Cita immigrated to the United States, living in San Diego, California in the early 1960’s. Cita was a vibrant, fun, beautiful woman. She met the love of her life John J. Burns in San Diego and after a short courting, three weeks, were married for 50 years. They moved to Lansdale, PA where they raised their two sons, John, and Jeffrey Burns. After 30+ years, they moved back to San Diego to retire and enjoy their family and friends.

Cita was the youngest of seven children, and is survived by her brother, Franklin Aguila, who fondly referred to her as, Tripa de pollo, and sister-in-law Ana Powan Aguila. She is predeceased by her brothers Ismael “Men”, Ananias “Nano” Aguila, sisters Maria Isabel Aguila, Claudia Morrison, and Dolores Blas, parents Juan Bautista Aguila Duarte and Maria del Socorro Aguila Castillo, sister in-laws Yolanda (Frank) Aguila, and Carmen (Ananias) Aguila, and brother in-laws Angel (Dolores) Blas, and Donald (Claudia) Morrison.

Cita was devoted to her family and loved traveling, cruising, camping, hiking, and adventuring with her sons and their families. She especially prioritized taking her medicine, a nightly glass of red wine! John, her eldest son, is married to Laurie Kay Burns, who she nicknamed blondie. Cita loved the numerous road trips she took with her husband, Jack, to Colorado where John and Laurie reside. John and Laurie will cherish the memories they shared with “Mamacita”, celebrating her birthday’s, drinking wine, and enjoying life to the fullest with her. Their favorite memory of Mamacita is hearing her call their Dad, “Jack-shit”!

Jeffrey, her youngest son, gave Mamacita two cherished blessings, Abigail (Abby), and Emma Burns. Cita adored her two “muñequitas” as she called them. Cita spent time with Jeff and his wife Mariuxi in Florida.

Cita’s love of her family extended to her nieces and nephews on both the Aguila and Burns sides. She is survived by nieces and nephews Cecilia and Graciela, Angelica (Jorge, Yanina, Cristian), Angel (Maricela, Larissa, Jessica), Lorena (Sofia), Sandra, Charo (Gary, Gabriel, Ryan, Marco), Einar (Frances, Franklin, Nicole, Jonathan, Denielle), Liza (Michael, John, Christian), Terry (Sommer, Alex), Jeanie (Alan, Serena, Adam), Timm (Corrie, Tyler, Bailey), Jean and Harry, Leo and Claire (Kathy, Beverly, Jennifer, Jeffrey, Andrew, Marianne), Jim (Karen, Ryan, Jessica, Robert, Debbie).

One of Cita’s favorite pass times was spending times with her girlfriends and neighbors in Chula Vista. She was part of a lovely group of ladies who played Bunko. They surrounded her with love and cherished her lively spirit. Cita was so grateful to her neighbors who kept an eye on her and helped her whenever she needed. Another one of Cita’s favorite things to do was going to the casinos with her sister-in-law Ana and her late brother Ismael. She really enjoyed the slot machines, and boy was she lucky.

Cita was a devout Catholic, she prayed her rosary and kept all her loved ones in her prayers always. She was especially devoted to the Virgin Mary. Cita was a passionate woman, she loved to dance and shake those Panamanian hips. She had a signature move where she bent her knees and swirled her hips to the instruction of her hands. If you knew Cita, you knew her move. Even in her final days, Cita danced in her chair and had a smile on her face. Her jovial spirit will live on in all who loved her. The caring and loving staff at Waters Edge, Assisted Living, ensured she was genuinely cared for in every way, including cheering her on as she danced for them in her chair, chanting, “go mamacita, go mamacita”.