Mary Villalobos Galarza

On Aug. 19, 2015, Mary Villalobos Galarza, RN, died peacefully at home.
Mary was born to Felipa Torres Villalobos and Refugio Villalobos on April 9, 1936, in Lockhart, Texas.
After graduating from Lockhart High School, she became a nurses’ aide at the Baptist Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in San Antonio.
She knew she wanted to become a nurse after helping her mother?

?deliver all the babies and care for the rest of the family, especially after helping take care of Joe, her youngest brother.
“I was responsible for all the children, with mom, of course,” she said. “I wanted to do that better. To learn how to do it.”
After one year as a nurses’ aide, the Director of Nursing Service recognized Mary’s hard work and submitted her name for a scholarship to enter the nursing program. Mary was awarded the scholarship and graduated from the Baptist Memorial Hospital Nursing School in 1960. She continued working at the Baptist Health System for 46 years before retiring.
While in nursing school, she met Mario Guadalupe Galarza at Emmanuel Presbyterian Church. They married on Nov. 10, 1962, and actively served at Emmanuel throughout their lives with their children and grandchildren.
Mary is remembered for her quick wit, hearty laugh, generous spirit, love of singing, effusive encouragement given via phone calls and handwritten letters, and for her strong Christian witness.
The memorial service will take place at 11 a.m. on Aug. 29, at Emmanuel Presbyterian Church in San Antonio, Texas, with Rev. Krin Van Tatenhove presiding.
The family expresses gratitude to her physicians, nurses and aides for their loving care. They also thank her church family, friends and family members for their prayers, calls and visits — all of which helped her, and her immediate family, get through the tough times.
She is survived by her son, Samuel Galarza (Sonia) and daughter, Miriam Elliott (Gregory), as well as the following grandchildren: Kenneth, Jonathan, Yvonne and Amanda. She is also survived by the following siblings: Cruz Bermudez, Luisa Silvas, Refugio Villalobos, Jr., Marcus Villalobos, Roy Villalobos, Leonor Villescaz, Connie Smith, Elias Villalobos and Beatrice Ramirez.