Aurora Guadiana

Aurora Gallegos Guadiana, age 94, died on January 18, 2019, in San Antonio, Texas surrounded by her loving family.  Born to Manuel Gallegos and Trinidad Quiroga de Gallegos, she joins them in heaven along with her siblings, Santos, Manuel, Ramon, Armando, Sara, Carlota, and Fernanda, as well as her beloved husband, Jose C. Guadiana, their son Armando and grandchildren Edgar and Rene Irene. She is survived by two siblings, Ines Gallegos of Laredo and Armandina Gallegos de Lopez of Sabinas Hidalgo, and by her children, Jose L. Guadiana (Bertha) of Laredo, Martha G. Sepeda (Joe, deceased) of San Antonio, Roberto Guadiana (Leticia) of Pflugerville, Leticia Bhutra (Darsh) of Danville, CA, and her grandchildren, Mario, Leo, Mica, Carlos, Zeke, Joni, Steven, Vinnie, Raquel, and their partners, as well as great-grandchildren, Noemi, Yael, Nicolas, Ilana, Armando, Antonio, Fernando, Marcos and many beloved in-laws, relatives, and friends in the US and Mexico. Born in Palo Alto, a ranch near Sabinas Hidalgo, N.L, Mexico, Aurora cheerfully recounted tales of childhood hardships and happy adventures.  After elementary school, she was sent to Sabinas to help her older brother who sold goods to the surrounding ranches.  As a teenager, she found work in a dress factory, making lifelong friends among the women garment workers.  In 1950, she married Jose C. Guadiana and they moved to Monterrey and Guadalupe N.L. Mexico.  She would often say “La vida da muchas vueltas...” to remind us that life has many twists and turns and so it did for her.  In 1955, Aurora and her first two children followed her husband Jose, a U.S. citizen, to the Chicago area where he worked as a laborer at Inland Steel.  But every vacation was spent in Mexico. Frugal, tireless, and good-humored, Aurora made loving homes for her five children in both East Chicago and Gary. At any given point, her home would be opened up to brothers and brothers-in-law who had immigrated to work and help their families back in Mexico. Despite language barriers, Aurora made friends easily with her multicultural neighbors, including women from other parts of Mexico, Poland, Greece, Serbia, Croatia, and Puerto Rico, sharing food, making many of their recipes her own, and communicating through the joy of good food. Three years after Jose’s death, Aurora moved with her children to Laredo, Texas in 1974.  Widowed at 46, she mourned Jose’s death profoundly for many years, but she regained her joy of life in Laredo, sustained by her family in nearby Monterrey and Sabinas and by her commitment to her young family. She raised her children to be “educados” in the Mexican sense of the term and supported by her gentle spirituality, vigilance and fierce positivity, all of her children went to college and some to graduate school. This support was later passed to her many grandchildren, who have gone on to become doctors, nurses, and artists. Aurora was also a proud American. Becoming a US citizen in 1993, she took great pride in her children’s and grandchildren’s work in local, state and federal government and military service. For years her home in Laredo was a way station for family and friends going to or coming from Mexico. She was the peacemaker in her family, a joyful organizer, and participant in family gatherings, a welcoming hostess, and the cake maker for birthdays. She discouraged gossip, never said a bad word about anybody, laughed heartily at any joke, encouraged all single people to find love and was full of delight at the wonder of children. She took care of neighborhood kids who still remember Aurora like a grandmother. Aurora loved Laredo best but at different times and for different family commitments, she distributed care and love to her grandchildren all over the country including California, New Mexico, Wyoming, Austin, Laredo, Del Rio and finally, San Antonio. And she made friends there too! For those of us who knew and loved her, a nice day will be a little less so, and a bad day will be a little more so, now that she is gone. The family thanks the Arriaga sisters who cared for Aurora for several years and the many relatives and friends from both countries who made special efforts to visit Aurora or welcome her in their homes in the last few years.  We especially thank the staff at St. Francis Nursing Home at 630 W. Woodlawn Avenue, San Antonio, Texas 78212 for their loving kindness and care of Aurora. They too loved her smile.  A chapel service will be held on Friday, January 25, 2019, at 7:00 p.m. in the Hillside Funeral Home Chapel. Visitation will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. A funeral service will be held on Saturday, January 26, 2019, at 9:45 a.m. from Hillside Funeral Home to the City of Laredo Cemetery. A graveside service will be held at 10:00 a.m. 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.