Oralia Vargas

Oralia “Lale” Vargas, 81, of Hereford, Texas, passed away on Tuesday, July 22, 2014 in Hereford. Mass of Christian Burial was held on Friday at 10 in St. Anthony’s Catholic Church with Monsignor Joe Bixenman, Rev. Tony Neusch and Rev. Jim O’Conner as celebrants. Entombment will follow in Memory Gardens Cemetery under the direction of Colonial Funeral Home of Dimmitt. Ro

sary was recited on Thursday at 6 in the church.

Oralia was born on June 29, 1933, in Lockhart, Texas to Tomas Gonzalez and Salustina Martinez Gonzalez. She attended school in Lockhart and Vernon. Oralia married Pedro Vargas, Sr., on May 16, 1949 in Hereford. She worked for Gibson’s as a manager in the soft goods department for over 11 years, worked for High Plains Baptist Hospital and the Hereford Regional Medical Hospital and Holly Sugar for over 25 years before her retirement.

She was KPAN “Mother of the Year” in 1996. She enjoyed working in her yard and taking care of her rose garden, enjoyed watching the “Wheel of Fortune” and playing cards especially 31 and spending time with her family. Most importantly she was a loving and caring mother and grandmother.

Oralia is survived by four daughters: Virginia Campos, Grace Gamez and Teresa Munoz, all of Hereford, and Alice Hall, of Amarillo; three sons: Pete Vargas, Jr., of Hereford, Ralph Vargas, of Houston, and Ruben Vargas, of Vernon; four sisters, Alice De Los Santos, of Amarillo, Dora Castro and Estella Lineweaver, both of San Antonio, and Dolores Gonzalez of Hereford; 16 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

She is preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Pedro Vargas Sr.; two daughters, Yolanda Vargas and Lalita Vargas; and sisters, Consuelo Castaneda and Lillie Gonzalez.