Salome Flores Rosales
Salome Flores Rosales was born on June 7, 1910 and passed away March 21, 2012, in Devine, Texas.
Salome was preceded in death by his mother, Geronima Flores and father, Salome Rosales, Sr.; five sisters: Juanita, Maria, Dominga, Manuela and Delfina; and one brother, Andres.
He is survived by his nephews, Severo Castillo, of Lockhart, Reynaldo Rojas, of Los Angeles, Calif.
, and Gumecindo Rojas, Jr., of Lockhart; and many other nieces, nephews and members of the Rojas family.
Rosary service was held at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 23, 2012.
Salome the youngest of seven children. He grew up in McMahan, Texas where he and his family were share-croppers.
His mother died in 1928, and his family moved closer into the outskirts of Lockhart in 1929. His father passed in 1931 and his older brother married and moved away. Thus, he and his sisters moved into town.
He worked in a variety of trades in support of the family. He was rather an entrepreneur in his own time, purchasing wood from country folk and re-selling in town for triple the price.
In the early Thirties, he and his family would migrate to the Corpus Christi area to work in the fields. They cleared parcels of land by hand, making way for the farmers. When not clearing land, they were planting, chopping and picking cotton. In 1942 he migrated to the state of Michigan, where he harvested vegetables, such as beets.
From 1958-1960, he traveled to the state of Idaho to help with the harvest of potatoes and other vegetables. In 1961 and many years to follow, the family would travel to West Texas (mainly the Tahoka, Texas, area) to chop and pick cotton for the Gribbles, with whom they developed a friendship.
In Lockhart, he worked as a bartender, donated his time maintaining the Woodman of the World cemetery, worked for Eeds Funeral Home and built fences for country folk.
In the early years, he would fish the local ponds and creeks and would sell his catch at Henrietta”s for extra money.
Salome had two brief marriages. His first was at the age of 32, marrying a local lady who was then 16 years of age. He paid the Justice of the Peace $2.50 for his services.
He was an avid card and domino player. A local business owner was quoted as stating that he loved it when Salome would come into his place to gamble, because others would follow. Another friend recently said the only time he heard anything negative said about Salome was from those individuals he beat at cards and dominoes.
In Caldwell County, he earned the prestigious title of the “best cotton picker” in the county, collecting more than 1,000 pounds a day. Over the years, friends and acquaintances marveled at how he sustained such great posture for a man his age, standing tall and straight with his 6-foot-plus frame.
But, the most marvelous characteristic recognized by family and friends, was his memory, quoting the past as if it were yesterday.
Having lived at the Chisholm Trail Nursing for the past 11 years, visitors would enjoy a visit with him, as he could provide a bit of history about their own families.
Thank you to those employees of Chisholm Trail Nursing & Rehab who reached out to Salome and brought him joy and happiness and treated him with dignity and respect. God Bless.
We miss u. May u be in heaven. We will c u soon