Fresno State’s national and state flags will be posted at half-staff on Wednesday, March 20, for Dr. Manuel Peña, professor emeritus of music. Dr. Peña died on March 9 at the age of 76. Peña was a renowned anthropologist of music and folklore; an alumnus of Fresno State for both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees; and earned his doctorate at the University of Texas at Austin.
He taught on campus for 25 years, first within the La Raza Studies program, currently known as the Chicano and Latin American Studies, before retiring from the Department of Music in 2004. His wife of 54 years, Maria Peña, is employed on campus in the Henry Madden Library.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, March 20, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help (929 Harvard Ave., Clovis), followed by interment at Clovis Cemetery (305 N. Villa Ave., Clovis). In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Hinds Hospice (2490 W. Shaw Ave. Suite 101, Fresno).
