(Courtesy photos)
By ALBERT VILLEGAS
Special to the NEWS
Aurora Espinoza Villarreal has made San Benito her home for all 84 years of her life.
On June 10, she’s celebrating another year, but not before the family plans a weekend party at her Wentz Street residence.
When Villarreal’s answer to simple questions is “I’m ready to meet Jesus,” it’s certainly noted by her family, especially her oldest child, her daughter Estella Rodriguez, who is her provider.
She and others have come to realize that their time with the family’s matriarch is slowly slipping away.
Rodriguez said her mother has Parkinson’s and dementia. So, gathering the family while their mother is still able to gather her thoughts is a perfect reason to get together in her honor.
The original idea was to make a cake for their mother, but it quickly ballooned into a family gathering of sorts, and then into a full-blown party.
Six children and a multitude of grandchildren means there won’t be a shortage of supplies to make the birthday girl’s 85th year a time to remember.
“We don’t really know how many more opportunities we’ll have, so we want her family around,” Rodriguez said.
It wasn’t always like this.
In the 1960s, when Mrs. Villarreal was married to her husband, Ernesto, they were involved in their daughter’s life, especially at Sullivan Elementary School.
They were part of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) and even organized the parade float, for which the children sometimes rode.
“I remember, as a second grader, that sometimes my teacher would give me notes to give to my parents about something they were involved in,” Rodriguez said. “It was wonderful to have them. They were a big part of their children’s lives at Sullivan.”
Eventually, the couple had five more children, including Elisa, Ernesto Jr., Elma, Jose, and Elias.
The last child was born in 1970 and was the only attendee of Sullivan Elementary when their mother was offered a position in the school cafeteria.
Villarreal was so well known and liked that her transition from involvement in school activities to employment at Sullivan Elementary, beginning in 1975, was easy.
It’s a post she held until retiring in 2005 at age 64.
Every five years, a San Benito CISD superintendent would give her a pin, culminating in a 30-year button.
She proudly touched the pins and her employee badge while her daughters, Estela and Elisa, spoke admiringly of her at the dinner table.
Not bad for someone whose highest grade of completion was seventh.
“I would go to work at 5:30 in the morning and leave at 2:30 in the afternoon; I baked 500 rolls, and when I went home, I cooked for my husband,” Villarreal said. “I loved the children.”
Villarreal was born in La Paloma, delivered by a midwife, the same year America entered World War II. She married at 16 years of age.
Ernesto passed away on December 19, 2020. He served the citizens of San Benito and worked for years with the water district.
Her eyes fill with tears when she recalls cherished times with her beloved husband and family.
So while Mrs. Villarreal can still conjure up memories and subsequent conversations from yesteryear, it’s certainly cause for celebration, her relatives said.
Villarreal’s children, Ernesto, Jr., and Elma, eventually made her a grandmother several times over.
One of her grandchildren, Anna Rodriguez, who lives in San Antonio, agrees.
“We are putting up a big tent and going old school with a front yard pachanga,” said Anna, Estela’s daughter.
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