Mildred Judy Reyna

Mildred Judy Reyna Mrs. Mildred Judy Reyna, 104, passed away on Friday, May 23, 2014 in Laredo, Texas. She was born on the ancestral farm in Owen County, Kentucky to Claude and Lela (Agee) Judy, September 18, 1909. She came to Laredo, Texas in 1942 as the bride of the late Ricardo Reyna. She was educated in the public schools of Owenton, Georgetown, and Lexington, Kentucky. She received her undergraduate degree in 1930 and her graduate degree in 1940 from the University of Kentucky in Lexington. She also studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and took graduate courses at the University of Cincinnati, and the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. In 1962, she was the recipient of a National Science Foundation grant to take advanced courses in psychology at the University of Mississipi, Oxford, Mississipi. Mrs. Reyna began her teaching career in 1930 in La Grulla, Texas. After teaching four years there, she returned to Kentucky and taught for eight years in high schools in northern Kentucky. In Laredo, she taught eight years in Christen and Central schools. The last eighteen years of her thirty-eight year teaching career were at the Laredo Junior College now LCC. Both she and her husband were active in civic, cultural, and social activities of Laredo. They were deeply involved in supporting the Laredo Civic Music group, the Knife and Fork Supper Club, the French Club and various other organizations. Mrs. Reyna was a member of the Laredo Public Library Board for the first six years of its establishment and the Board of Trustees of the Laredo Junior College. She was a member and past president of the Tuesday Music and Literature Club, the Alpha Nu Chapter of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society, and the Webb County Unit of Retired Teachers and the Laredo Branch of the American Association of University Women. She was also on the board of the Laredo Little Theatre. In 1996, she was inducted into the Laredo Women’s Hall of Fame as one of the outstanding women in the educational field. Even in her advanced years, she continued to be interested in all that was going on, attending meetings and the many cultural events taking place in Laredo. She was a member of the Les Amies Birthday Club and the Society of Martha Washington. She was also a world traveler during a period of seventy years. After retirement she contributed many hours helping people prepare their income tax reports in the AARP Program. She also tutored children in the elementary schools who were having reading problems. Nothing gave her more pleasure than to learn of her former students’ success in civic and professional endeavors. She maintained her interest in and support of local and international charities, particularly those promoting education of Native American youth and other minorities. Mrs. Reyna is preceded in death by her daughter, Judith Carol Reyna. Mrs. Reyna is survived by one daughter, Mary Claude Reyna (Raymond Londa) of New York and New Jersey; step granddaughter, Dr. Jessica Londa of Thetford, Vermont; step grandson, Peter (Claire) Londa; step great-grandchildren, Olivia and Fletcher Londa all of Rowyaton, Connecticut; loving nieces, Cleo Reyna Klinger of Laredo and Lauren (FrankI) Judy of Sunset Beach, North Carolina; nephew, Edmund (Myra) Judy of Savannah, Georgia; and by numerous great and great-great nieces and nephews including Ernesto (Rosie) Cavazos, Cathy (Sabas) Zapata, Michelle (Poncho) Garza, Chappy Klinger, Dickie Klinger, Anita Rentfro, Manuel Cavazos, Roberto Cavazos, and Lourdes Reyna Arzuaga. A memorial service will be held on June 14, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. in the Hillside Funeral Home Chapel. The family would like to extend its gratitude and thanks to the AMISTAD Home Health Care, these past few years, to Nurses on Wheels Hospice for providing compassion and comfort in her last days, and to Roberta, Yolanda, and Elisa for taking such good care of her in her home. In lieu of flowers, anyone wishing to make a contribution may do so to the Mildred J. Reyna scholarship fund at LCC, c/o Millie Slaughter, West End Washington St, Laredo, Texas 78040 or to the Laredo Animal Protection Society (LAPS), c/o Michelle Deveze, 2500 Gonzalez St, Laredo, Texas 78040. If you would like to sign the guestbook or send private condolences, you may do so at www.hillsidefuneral.com. Arrangements are under the direction of Hillside Funeral Home, 310 Hillside Road.